.  ■  ■•  ■ 


■■ 


. 


X 


^\t^^\ 


TRAVELLING    IN    JAPAN. 


AROUND  THE   WORLD 
IN  SEVEN  MONTHS 


BY 


CHARLES  J.   GILLIS 


printefc  for 
private   Distribution 


COPYRIGHT,    1891 
BY 

CHARLES   J.   GILLIS 


Ube  Iknfcfeerbocher  press,  IRew  iJorfe 

Printed  and  Bound  by 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 


Mttb  tbe  Compliments 
ot  tbe  Sutbor 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

PAGE 

I. — Yokohama i 

II. — Yokohama 

. 

8 

III.— Tokio 

. 

•       14 

IV. — NlKKO 

. 

•       19 

V. — MlYNOSKITA 

. 

22 

VI.— Kobe 

. 

.       27 

VII.— Osaka 

. 

•       31 

VIII.— Hong-Kong 

, 

•       33 

IX. — Canton    . 

. 

•       39 

X. — Hong-Kong 

. 

.       46 

XI. — Singapore 

. 

•       5i 

XII. — On  Board  the  "  Kaisak 

.-i-Hand  " 

•       57 

XIII. — Colombo  .... 

.       61 

XIV. — Newava  Eliya 

.       66 

XV. — On  Board  the  "  Rohill 

•v"     . 

.       70 

XVI. — Calcutta 

.       76 

XVII.— Darjeeling 

, 

.       81 

XVIII.— Benares   . 

.        . 

•       85 

XIX. — Lucknow 

.        • 

90 

XX. — Cawnpore 

.        . 

93 

XXI.— Agra 

95 

XXII.— Delhi 

.                            a 

•                       • 

99 

VI 


Contents. 


CHAPTER 

XXIII 
XXIV 
XXV.- 
XXVI.— 
XXVII.— 
XXVIII.- 
XXIX 

XXX.— 
XXXI.- 
XXXII 
XXXIII.- 
XXXIV.— 
Distances 


Jeypore 

Bombay 

On  Board  the  "  Khedive" 

Through  the  Suez  Canal 

Cairo  and  the  Pyramids 

Jaffa    .... 

Ramleh 

Jerusalem    . 

Jaffa     .... 

On  Board  the  "  Poccir  " 

Constantinople  . 

Conclusion  . 

Travelled  . 


I'AGE 

105 
III 

115 
119 

123 

132 

134 
136 

140 
142 

147 

154 

158 


AROUND  THE  WORLD  IN  SEVEN 

MONTHS. 


CHAPTER   I. 


YOKOHAMA. 


Yokohama,  Japan,  Oct.  10,  1889. 


|T  9.50  A.M.,  on  the  morning  of 
the  8th  of  September  I  went 
aboard  the  vestibule  train  of 
the  New  York  Central  &  Hud- 
son River  Railroad,  at  Forty- 
second  Street,  New  York ;  and 
having  travelled  on  the  principal  railroads 
around  the  world,  I  can  truly  say  that  no 
train  which  has  ever  carried  me  has  ap- 
proached this  one  in  luxurious  ease,  com- 
fort, and  safety.  The  train  rolled  into  the 
Chicago  depot  at  9.50  the  next  morning — 
exactly  twenty-four  hours.  I  was  detained 
in  Chicago  for  two  days,  and  then  left  by 
the  Rock  Island  route  for  San  Francisco. 

At  Ogden,  we  were  detained  two  days  by 
the  burning  of  a  bridge  built  over  a  ravine — 
one  hundred  feet  long  and  about  the  same 


2  Around  the  World. 

height.  The  fire  destroyed  the  massive 
snow-sheds  and  great  trees  for  a  long  dis- 
tance. The  fire  took  place  Friday.  Tel- 
egrams were  sent  to  Sacramento,  and  the 
next  day  word  came  that  twenty-one  car 
loads  of  material  had  been  sent  with 
mechanics  to  erect  a  new  bridge. 

The  new  bridge  was  erected  in  four  days. 
Our  train  was  the  first  to  pass  over  it, 
and  I  remarked  how  substantially  the  new 
erection  had  been  constructed.  We  reached 
the  summit  at  noon,  and  the  Palace  Hotel, 
San  Francisco,  at  midnight. 

On  the  2ist  of  September  we  went  aboard 
the  steamer  Rio-de-Janeiroy  built  for  the 
southern  trade — 370  feet  long,  38  feet  wide, 
3,500  tons — six  tubular  boilers,  each  13  feet 
feet  diameter,  io-|  feet  long.  I  remarked 
what  heavy  consumers  of  coal  such  shaped 
boilers  must  be,  and  the  engineer  said  there 
was  no  room  to  put  in  any  other  kind. 

I  found  myself  the  sole  occupant  of  a 
large  and  well  ventilated  state-room.  At  3 
P.M.,  Captain  Ward,  standing  on  the  bridge, 
gave  the  signal,  and  the  voice  of  an  officer 
sang  out,  "All  ashore  that  's  going."  Sev- 
eral hundreds  of  Chinese  men  and  a  dozen 
women,    in    showy    dresses,    crowded     the 


RBC 
NeU 


Steamer  "  Rio-de-Janeiro!'  3 

wharf.  The  friends  of  the  missionaries  on 
the  wharf  sang  a  parting  hymn.  The  big 
propeller  started.  A  tug  pulled  the  ship's 
bow  around,  and  away  we  went  on  our 
voyage  of  4,700  miles  across  the  Pacific. 
We  passed  the  Golden  Gate  and  the  Seal 
Islands — covered  with  huge  seals — and  then 
on  towards  our  destination. 

I  soon  made  the  acquaintance  of  most  of 
the  passengers,  forty-five  in  number — includ- 
ing fourteen  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board,  nice  young  people  going  out  to  their 
duties  in  China  and  Japan.  I  took  my  seat  at 
the  dining-table,  and  found  that  I  had  at  my 
right  an  agreeable  companion,  a  captain  in 
the  German  army,  and  at  the  left  a  charm- 
ing miss  of  ten,  Bessie,  daughter  of  J.  De 
Romero,  secretary  of  the  Spanish  Legation 
to  China. 

The  first  week  out  was  a  rough  one.  The 
weather  was  bad,  and  the  ship  rolled  fear- 
fully, so  that  we  could  not  walk  on  deck. 
The  waves  were  immense,  and  consequently 
nearly  every  one  was  sick.  I  felt  a  little 
nausea  for  a  couple  of  days,  but  soon  did 
duty  regularly  at  the  fine  feast  placed  before 
us  three  times  a  day,  the  specialty  being 
splendid   California    fruits — peaches,   plums, 


4  Around  the  World. 

grapes,  and  oranges,  any  of  which  would 
bring  a  prize  in  an  agricultural  show. 

Day  after  day  the  tireless  engine  drove 
the  propeller.  The  splendid  ship  rushed  on 
and  on,  not  a  moment's  stop  the  entire  dis- 
tance. Not  a  sail  or  a  steamer  seen  from 
port  to  port,  and  not  even  a  whale.  Once 
some  porpoises  and  flying-fish,  and  once, 
when  a  thousand  miles  from  land,  a  land- 
hawk  lighted  on  the  cross-trees,  and  pro- 
ceeded leisurely  to  feast  on  a  captured  bird, 
and  during  the  night  flew  away. 

The  never-ending  water  was  very  impres- 
sive in  its  desolation.  Better  weather  came, 
the  ship  was  steady,  and  we  could  walk  on 
deck.  My  little  friend  and  I  romped  along 
the  deck  from  end  to  end  in  safety,  but  once 
a  rude  wave  threw  us  down,  and  dashed  us 
against  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  taking  off 
some  inches  of  skin  from  me,  but  the  child 
was  unhurt,  and  I  did  not  mind  a  little  thing 
like  that. 

I  had  early  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Mathews,  the  chief  engineer,  and  once  went 
into  the  hold  and  inspected  the  boilers  and 
machinery  of  the  huge  ship.  I  spent  a  good 
deal  of  time  in  the  chief  engineer's  room, 
listening  to  strange  tales  of  ship  and  shore. 


Steamer  "  Rio-de~yaneiro!'  5 

On  the  9th  inst.,  as  we  were  approaching 
our  destination,  I  was  shown  an  engrossed 
resolution  complimenting  the  captain,  beauti- 
fully illustrated  with  a  pen-and-ink  sketch  of 
the  ship  by  Senor  Romero.  After  dinner, 
one  of  the  passengers  was  selected  to  make 
the  presentation  address.     He  said  : 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  fellow-passengers 
by  the  good  ship  Rio-de-Janeiro :  I  act  with 
pleasure  as  chairman  on  this  auspicious  occa- 
sion, and  congratulate  you  on  the  near  termi- 
nation of  our  long  trip  across  the  great 
Pacific  Ocean,  rendered  safe  by  the  skill  of 
the  navigators  and  pleasant  by  the  efforts  of 
the  officers,  one  and  all.  I  have  been  many 
times  across  many  seas,  sometimes  in  mag- 
nificent floating  palaces,  but  never  on  one  so 
neat  and  clean,  and  where  every  detail  has 
been  so  carefully  attended  to. 

"  '  O'er  the  glad  waters  of  the  dark  blue  sea, 

Our  thoughts  as  boundless  and  our  souls  as  free, 
Far  as  the  breeze  can  bear,  the  billows  foam, 
Survey  our  empire  and  behold  our  home.' 

"Our  only  home  indeed  for  a  brief  period 
of  time.  But  who  can  fail  to  remember  the 
pleasant  acquaintances  made,  even  if  we  go 
around  the  world  ?     For  '  they  that  go  down 


6  Around  the  World, 

to  the  sea  in  ships  ;  that  do  business  in  great 
waters  ;  these  see  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and 
his  wonders  in  the  deep.'  Even  if  we  look 
upon  the  lofty  Himalayas,  the  Alps,  the 
Apennines,  and  the  Juras,  and  linger  about 
gigantic  Mont  Blanc  and  her  white-robed 
sisters,  or  the  beautiful  Jungfrau,  or  sail 
along  the  classic  shores  of  the  blue  Mediter- 
ranean,— wherever  we  go,  and  whatever  we 
see,  the  scenes  on  this  good  ship  will  be 
photographed,  as  it  were,  on  our  memories 
as  long  as  we  live — the  romps  on  the  deck, 
perchance  with  a  charming  miss ;  or  the 
tramp,  tramp  with  military  regularity  with 
those  of  mature  age ;  the  hours  of  looking 
upon  the  moonlit  sea,  listening  to  the  song 
and  music  of  our  missionary  friends.  God 
bless  them  and  their  cause ! 

"  The  temporary  annoyance  of  sea-sickness 
will  be  forgotten.  And  now,  fellow-passen- 
gers and  friends,  let  us  resolve  that,  like 
the  passion-flower  of  the  wilderness,  which 
always  bears  within  its  bosom  the  true  cross, 
we  will  bear  within  our  bosom  the  true  cross 
of  ■  enmity  towards  none,  charity  and  good- 
will for  all,'  and  thus  we  shall  be  an  honor  to 
ourselves,  the  dear  ones  at  home,  the  country 
we  came  from,  and  our  God. 


Steamer  "  Rio-de-Janeiro!*  7 

"  Captain  Ward,  by  directions  of  the  pas- 
sengers on  this  ship,  permit  me  to  present  to 
you  an  engrossed  resolution,  signed  by  all 
of  us,  and  beautifully  illustrated  by  Sefior 
Romero,  and  expressing  the  hope — which 
has  been  so  often  said  before  on  like  occa- 
sions— that  your  voyage  through  life  may  be 
as  safe  and  pleasant  as  you  have  made  ours. 
I  bid  you  farewell." 

The  captain  made  a  suitable  reply,  and  the 
company  all  stood  up  and  drank  his  health. 

One  more  night  on  the  ship  ;  and  the  next 
morning  we  sighted  land  and  passed  along 
near  it  for  forty  miles.  It  was  a  rough 
country,  evidently  of  volcanic  formation, 
and  not  so  thickly  populated  as  I  expected 
to  see,  considering  that  there  are  thirty-eight 
million  people  in  Japan.  At  last  we  cast 
anchor  in  the  splendid  harbor  of  Yokohama, 
one  of  the  most  commodious  and  beautiful 
in  the  world,  where  a  tug  took  us  off  the 
ship.  We  were  detained  an  hour  or  two  at 
the  custom-house,  and  then  each  took  a 
jinrickislia,  a  low,  two-wheeled  chaise  with  a 
man  between  the  shafts,  who  trotted  up  to 
the  "  Grand,"  the  most  perfect  of  hotels. 
We  went  directly  to  our  rooms,  which  had 
been  previously  engaged. 


CHAPTER   II. 


YOKOHAMA. 


aiumuuMuuituuui 


Yokohama,  Oct.  12,  1889. 

HE  Grand  Hotel,  where  I  am 
located,  is  very  large  and 
first-class  in  all  respects.  It 
is  two  hundred  feet  long, 
fronting  the  matchless  bay, 
with  an  extension  along  a 
canal  of  two  hundred  feet. 

From  the  room  I  occupy,  I  look  down 
upon  the  canal  and  a  fine  bridge  which 
spans  it.  Across  this  bridge  goes  a  constant 
procession  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
some  horses  and  carriages,  and  occasionally 
a  single  ox  drawing  a  cart.  But  every  thing 
looks  so  different,  and  is  managed  so  differ- 
ently from  what  one  has  been  accustomed 
to,  that  I  am  more  and  more  impressed  with 
the  idea  that  I  am  no  longer  in  this  world, 
but  in  some  wonderland  beyond  the  stars. 

The  view  of  the  bay  from  the  front  of  the 
hotel  is  said  to  be,  by  some,  the  finest  in  the 

8 


Yokohama.  9 

world.  The  harbor  is  very  large,  and  could 
float  all  the  navies  of  all  nations.  At  anchor, 
in  different  directions,  are  iron-clad  war-ships, 
English,  French,  German,  Italian,  Russian, 
and  Japanese,  —  only  one  showing  the  stars 
and  stripes,  the  St.  Mary,  an  old  side-wheel 
boat,  about  as  large  as  a  Brooklyn  ferry- 
boat, and  of  course  about  as  useless. 

One  of  the  naval  vessels  flying  the  British 
flag  is  an  immense  iron-clad  of  six  thousand 
tons.  With  the  commander,  Captain  May, 
I  became  acquainted.  He  has  on  board  an 
Armstrong  gun  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
tons,  the  largest  I  think  ever  made,  which 
will  throw  a  bolt  of  half  a  ton  a  dozen  miles, 
and  penetrate  through  a  wrought-iron  plate 
twelve  inches  thick. 

The  captain  expressed  himself  as  having 
serious  doubt  of  the  efficiency  of  such 
monster  ships  and  guns  in  actual  warfare, 
as  smaller,  swifter  crafts  could  run  around 
them,  and  have  great  advantages  in  that 
respect. 

Most  of  the  coal  used  in  this  part  of  the 
world  comes  from  England,  and  is  conse- 
quently very  high-priced. 

The  harbor  is  crowded  with  many  large 
passenger   steamers,    and    a    great    fleet    of 


io  Around  the  World. 

fishing  craft.  Towards  evening  the  latter 
presented  a  beautiful  appearance,  coming  in. 

I  took  a  short  walk  beyond  the  canal  and 
over  steep  hills.  There  are  few  horses  or  oxen 
to  be  seen.  Most  of  the  transportation  is  done 
by  men.  A  two-wheeled  cart,  loaded  with  per- 
haps five  hundred  brick,  was  being  pushed  up 
a  steep  hill  by  eight  men,  who  rested  often 
and  were  much  fatigued  by  their  exertions. 

Last  evening  our  party  started  for  a  moon- 
light excursion  along  the  smooth  and  finely 
macadam-paved  streets  of  the  city.  Under 
the  guidance  of  one  of  our  number,  jin- 
rickishas— the  national  cab  for  transporting 
light  packages  and  passengers — were  called, 
The  translation  of  this  word  is  pullman-car. 
and  thus  we  have  the  extraordinary  coinci- 
dence of  the  same  name  for  a  crude  vehicle, 
drawn  by  a  man,  and  for  the  splendid  Pull- 
man palace  cars  of  America,  which,  with 
the  Wagner,  so  far  surpass  in  elegance  and 
comfort  all  others. 

Away  we  went  at  a  tremendous  pace,  each 
having  a  Chinese  lantern,  my  carriage  lead- 
ing. We  passed  through  well-lighted  streets, 
lined  with  stores  filled  with  showy  goods, 
into  the  suburbs,  a  mile  or  two  away,  and 
stopped  at  a  tea-house,  where  we  were  re- 


Yokohama.  1 1 

ceived  with  much  bowing  and  ceremony  by 
the  women  in  charge,  who  spoke  a  little 
English.  We  were  shown  up  a  narrow  stair- 
way into  a  small  hall,  and  a  bargain  was 
made  for  a  national  performance  by  two 
musicians  and  ten  dancing  girls,  who  pres- 
ently appeared,  draped  in  beautiful  Japanese 
costumes.  These  dancing  girls  were  all  very 
pretty,  with  their  almond  eyes  and  dark 
skins,  and  apparently  not  more  than  twelve 
or  fifteen  years  old.  They  were  the  most 
jolly  and  laughing  young  women  one  ever 
saw.  They  shook  hands  with  all  the  com- 
pany, and  then  danced  very  nicely,  to  very 
poor  music,  in  their  swaying  robes.  At  a 
signal,  these  robes  were  thrown  aside,  and 
the  girls  appeared  in  long  loose  dresses  made 
of  white  and  red  material,  much  like  the 
stripes  on  the  American  flag.  The  dancing, 
which  was  very  graceful,  continued  for  some 
time ;  but  the  show  became  somewhat  mo- 
notonous. The  ladies  did  not  care  to  see  any 
thing  more,  and  we  came  away.  Again  we 
took  to  the  road,  making  a  very  unique  pro- 
cession by  moonlight — passing  over  many 
bridges  and  boulevards,  and  rows  upon  rows 
of  brilliantly  illuminated  tea-houses, — and 
returned  to  the  hotel. 


11  Around  the  World. 

The  natives  do  not  wear  European  cloth- 
ing as  much  as  I  expected.  The  upper  part 
of  their  persons  is  covered  with  a  loose  sack, 
often  open  in  front,  and  the  jolly  and  laugh- 
ing children  of  ten  years  and  under  are 
generally  entirely  nude. 

This  morning  all  hands  took  another  trip 
through  the  markets.  We  examined  cane 
factories,  and  stores  filled  with  silks  and 
beautiful  goods  of  native  manufacture. 
Again  we  looked  upon  the  street  scenes 
and  their  never-ending  wonders. 

From  my  bedroom  window  I  see  a  large 
factory  for  the  making  of  ice,  which  is  sold 
at  a  penny  a  pound  and  is  the  greatest  of 
comforts  in  this  country.  Butter  and  cigars 
are  so  strong  and  bad  that  I  have  left  off  the 
use  of  them,  and  do  not  expect  to  try  them 
again  until  I  get  to  Austria ;  but  soda-water 
of  excellent  quality  is  to  be  had  everywhere, 
and  is  a  great  comfort. 

We  spent  the  evening  listening  to  the 
splendid  Japanese  Marine  Band  which  played 
lovely  music  for  two  hours  in  front  of  the 
hotel ;  all  the  musicians  were  natives.  It 
was  gayly  bright  at  the  hotel,  the  entire  front 
being  illuminated  by  paper  lanterns  of  vari- 
ous colors  ;  the  big  ships  in  the  bay  shown 
by  their  own  numerous  lamps,  and  the  light 


Yokohama.  1 3 

of  the  full  moon  glittering  upon  the  moving 
waters.  I  have  seen  no  such  beautiful  show 
since  1887,  when,  at  the  city  of  Florence,  I 
witnessed  great  festivities  attendant  upon  the 
unveiling  of  a  statue  to  an  Italian  patriot  ; 
the  great  dome  of  the  cathedral,  the  bridges, 
and  the  boats  on  the  river  Arno,  the  palaces 
on  the  hills,  and  the  whole  beautiful  city 
being  illuminated  in  the  most  splendid  man- 
ner— but  this  is  a  digression  and  I  must  write 
now  about  Japan. 

I  have  to-day  wandered  about  the  city 
alone,  and  have  seen  more  of  the  well-to-do 
natives.  These  are  better  dressed — always 
the  flowing  dressing-gown  pattern,  and 
stilted  and  inconvenient  slipper-like  shoes. 

Everywhere,  the  babies  are  carried  in  bags, 
on  the  backs  of  their  mothers,  or  more  often 
by  the  older  children.  There  are  great  num- 
bers of  babies  to  be  seen  all  over  the  city, 
carried  about  in  this  way,  and  they  always 
appear  very  happy,  well  fed,  and  comfortable. 

This  morning  at  two  o'clock  I  was  awak- 
ened by  an  earthquake  which  rolled  my  bed 
about  the  room.  It  lasted  twenty  seconds 
or  so,  but  I  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to 
get  up,  and  soon  went  off  to  sleep  again.  I 
am  told  such  entertainments  are  frequent  in 
this  country,  and  one  must  get  used  to  them. 


CHAPTER   III. 


TOKIO. 


Tokio,  Japan,  Oct.  15,  1889. 

FTER  being  entertained  at  Yo- 
kohama, on  the  morning  of 
the  14th  instant,  with  a  slight 
earthquake,  we  left  for  this, 
the  capital  city  of  the  Em- 
pire, on  a  finely  built  and 
equipped,  narrow-gauge  (3  ft.  6  in.)  rail- 
road. Every  square  yard  of  the  country  we 
traversed  was  cultivated  in  the  highest  de- 
gree— Distance  eighteen  miles,  time  one 
hour. 

I  noticed  that  the  locomotives,  cars,  and 
all  the  equipments  about  the  railroad  were 
of  English  manufacture  from  Manchester 
and  Birmingham.  I  was  informed  that  most 
of  the  twelve  hundred  miles  of  railroads  in 
Japan  were  owned  and  run  by  the  Govern- 
ment. The  chief  in  charge  is  a  native  edu- 
cated in  England,  who  scouted  the  idea  that 

14 


Tokio.  1 5 

any  other  country  could  produce  any  thing 
fit  to  be  used  on  railroads. 

We  had  previously  engaged  rooms  at  one 
of  the  two  hotels  in  the  city,  where  foreigners 
are  entertained,  and  after  an  excellent  din- 
ner, took  jinrickishas \  of  which  there  are 
80,000  in  this  city,  and  had  a  long  run 
through  the  interminable  streets.  The  city 
has  a  population  of  1,600,000,  and  covers  a 
space  of  thirty-six  square  miles,  the  streets 
being  very  narrow  and  the  houses  mostly  of 
wood,  one  and  two  stories  high — the  stores 
all  small. 

After  passing  through  streets  for  some 
miles,  we  came  to  others,  wider  and  lighted 
brilliantly  by  gas  and  electricity,  through 
which  carriages  were  not  allowed  to  pass. 
The  houses,  for  miles,  were  occupied  as  tea- 
houses, and  were  brilliantly  illuminated,  like 
the  gin  palaces  of  London,  or  the  whiskey 
saloons  of  America.  Great  vans  were  pass- 
ing along,  on  which  dancing  and  theatrical 
performances  were  going  on.  There  were 
also  a  good  many  theatres  in  active  opera- 
tion. 

One  of  the  evenings  that  we  were  in  the  city, 
these  streets  were  occupied  by  an  immense 
annual  flower  show,  one  of  the  features  of 


1 6  Around  the  World. 

which  was  a  big  elephant  constructed  of 
chrysanthemum  flowers  of  many  colors.  The 
effect  was  very  gorgeous. 

The  next  day  we  spent  going  about  the 
great  city  and  seeing  its  wonders,  chief  of 
which  is  the  Mikado's  palace  and  grounds. 
I  called  on  the  American  Minister  and  asked 
him  to  get  me  a  permit  to  go  into  the  palace, 
but  he  said  it  was  impossible,  no  foreigners 
being  allowed  in  the  palace  or  the  grounds. 
The  palace  and  gardens  looked  like  immense 
fortifications,  being  surrounded  by  three 
moats,  each  a  hundred  feet  wide,  and  filled 
with  water,  and  by  three  stone  walls,  each 
thirty  or  forty  feet  high. 

The  palace  is  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and 
I  should  say  the  grounds  were  two  hundred 
acres  in  extent,  all,  including  the  neighboring 
streets,  being  lighted  by  the  New  York  Edison 
Company.  I  saw  the  superintendent  who 
had  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  plant, 
who  said  it  took  them  a  year  to  do  it. 

The  women  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  and 
tea-houses  are  invariably  small  and  very 
pretty,  except  some  of  the  married  ones, 
who  have  their  teeth  colored  black  in  ac- 
cordance with  an  ancient  custom,  which 
makes  them  look  hideous. 


Tokio.  1 7 

It  is  very  cool  in  this  part  of  Japan  at  this 
season.  There  is  not  sufficient  frost  to  affect 
the  crops,  but  one  gets  cold  riding  about — 
and  there  is  no  efficient  method  of  heating 
the  houses.  There  is  no  coal  used  for  do- 
mestic purposes,  and  wood  is  very  scarce 
and  high.  If  you  ask  for  a  fire,  at  most 
hotels,  they  bring  you  a  copper  pan  con- 
taining ignited  charcoal  covered  with  ashes, 
which  does  about  as  much  good  as  a  kero- 
sene lamp.  I  suffer  greatly  with  the  cold, 
and  would  be  glad  to  pay  a  large  price  for 
a  pair  of  Arctic  overshoes. 

The  price  of  newspapers,  printed  in  the 
English  language,  at  Yokohama  is  twenty- 
five  cents  a  copy,  or  thirty  dollars  per  annum. 
They  have  very  little  news,  and  almost  none 
from  America. 

We  went  through  the  museum,  and  saw 
many  extraordinary  curiosities  of  ancient 
and  modern  Japan.  Among  them  was  a 
stuffed  rooster  in  a  glass  case,  whose  tail 
feathers  were  ten  feet  long.  1  thought  there 
was  some  humbug  about  it,  but  I  afterwards 
saw  a  live  one  with  tail  feathers  twelve  feet 
long. 

The  public  buildings  are  modern,  large, 
and  handsome,  and  the  people  very  polite 


1 8  Around  the  World. 

and  good-natured.  The  streets  are  narrow. 
Great  crowds  are  everywhere.  It  seems  to 
me  that  I  must  have  seen  a  hundred  thou- 
sand people  to-day.  Every  thing  about  the 
city  is  strange,  often  disagreeable  and  offen- 
sive. A  couple  of  days  in  it  is  quite  suffi- 
cient, and  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  go  away 
to-morrow. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

NIKKO. 

,w^~-^~~5~.  Nikko,  Japan,  Oct.  20,  1889. 

|E  left  Tokio  on  the  17th,  at 
6.46  A.M.,  for  a  station  called 
Utsumorama,  ninety  -  three 
miles.  Arrived  at  noon,  and, 
after  an  excellent  lunch,  start- 
ed in  jinrickishas  for  this 
place,  and  a  most  extraordinary  and  unique 
trip  it  proved  to  be. 

The  road  was  built  hundreds  of  years  ago 
by  a  Shinto  king,  and  is  an  admirable  ex- 
ample of  engineering  ;  well  drained,  and  with 
an  excellent  foundation  of  small  stones, 
which  needed  only  a  top-dressing  and  a 
steam  roller  to  make  it  as  good  as  any  in 
Europe.  It  is  lined  on  both  sides  with  im- 
mense pine  and  cedar  trees.  Many  of  these 
trees  are  twelve  feet  in  diameter;  and  often 
the  roots  are  grown  together,  so  that  four  or 
five  trees  look  like  one.  They  are  sixty  to 
eighty  feet  high,  and  afford  an  excellent  shade. 

19 


20  Around  the  World. 

The  distance  from  the  railway  station  to 
this  place  is  twenty-five  miles,  and  we  made 
it  in  four  hours  with  two  men  harnessed  to 
the  jinrickishas  tandem.  We  made  only 
one  stop  of  half  an  hour  for  lunch,  which  we 
brought  with  us,  and  ate  at  one  of  the 
numerous  tea-houses. 

We  arrived  at  4  P.M.,  delighted  at  the 
wonderful  sights,  but  much  fatigued  and 
very  cold.  Rooms  had  been  engaged  for  us 
in  an  excellent  hotel,  excellent  in  all  re- 
spects except  that  there  was  no  way  of 
heating,  unless  with  pans  of  charcoal.  I 
suffered  greatly  from  the  cold,  though  I  had 
warm  clothing,  including  a  heavy  overcoat 
which  had  done  me  good  service  the  previous 
winter  at  Montreal  when  the  thermometer 
stood  at  thirty  degrees  below  zero. 

Near  the  hotel  are  a  dozen,  or  more,  costly 
and  grotesque  edifices,  much  adorned  with 
carved  wood  statues  of  horrible-looking 
beasts  and  devils,  covered  with  bronze  and 
gold.  There  are  temples  of  Buddha,  and 
gorgeous  mausoleums  of  kings  who  died  five 
hundred  years  ago,  situated  in  a  park  of  big 
trees ;  but  looking  at  them,  though  interest- 
ing, was  not  agreeable,  and  I  was  quite  satis- 
fied with  one  visit. 


Nikko.  2 1 

To-day  we  made  an  excursion  to  a  lake 
amongthe  mountains,  five  thousand  feet  high. 
I  was  furnished  with  a  mountain  horse  which 
proved  an  ugly  brute ;  kicked  and  stumbled, 
and  put  the  bit  between  his  teeth,  so  that  I 
could  not  control  him,  and  he  nearly  trotted 
the  life  out  of  me.  We  went  up  and  along 
the  winding  paths,  passing  numerous  water- 
falls, one  of  which  was  750  feet  high,  and  at 
last  reached  the  lake,  which  is  of  great 
beauty.  The  mountains  rise  directly  from 
the  water's  edge.  They  are  covered  to  their 
very  tops  with  green  trees,  the  leaves  of 
which  have  a  singular  feathery  appearance. 

The  tea-houses  where  we  stopped  for  lunch 
were  models  of  cleanliness  and  comfort.  We 
brought  our  own  provisions  as  usual,  but 
had  in  addition  a  boiled  fish  just  taken  from 
the  lake. 

We  stopped  in  and  around  the  tea-houses 
for  some  hours ;  and  then  I  mounted  my 
ugly  brute  of  a  horse  and  rode  back  to  the 
hotel,  a  much  used-up  man.  I  was  glad  to 
get  a  bath  and  to  retire  early. 

We  returned  to  the  railway  station  by  the 
road  we  came,  and  again  made  the  distance 
in  four  hours,  with  only  one  stop  of  fifteen 
minutes. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MIYNOSKITA. 


Bfv-J^"w^<rv^r 

^a^. 

Skill 

mm 

ii^S_^_ 

Miynoskita,  Japan,  Oct.  24,  1889. 

ESTERDAY  at  10  A.M.  we  left 
Yokohama,  arrived  at  the 
railroad  station  at  twelve, 
and  reached  this  favorite 
watering-place,  among  the 
mountains,  in  four  hours  by 
jinrickishas.  Our  rooms  had  been  engaged 
in  an  excellent  hotel,  called  Fujiya,  and  soon 
after  our  arrival  a  fine  dinner  was  served  of 
soup,  fish,  roast  beef,  sago  pudding,  and  other 
delicacies,  to  which  we  did  ample  justice. 
The  waitresses  were  all  pretty  native  girls, 
dressed  in  their  native  costumes;  there  were 
a  dozen,  or  more,  of  them  about  the  hotel. 
These  waitresses  were  pleasant,  jolly,  and 
very  polite,  but  very  small  in  stature  ;  some 
of  them  walked  under  my  outstretched  arm, 
and  all  of  them  might  have  done  so. 

I   have  a  fine  front  room,  and  look  out 
upon  the  surrounding  mountains,  which  are 

22 


Miynoskita.  2  3 

very  lofty  and  covered  with  green  trees. 
This  is  an  ideal  mountain  resort  —  great 
mountains,  a  roaring  river  winding  some 
hundreds  of  feet  below  the  road,  and  numer- 
ous water-falls  ;  the  water  rushing  down  into 
the  river.  From  one  point  of  view  I  counted 
seven  water-falls,  and  found,  on  trial,  that  one 
of  them  came  from  a  hot  spring  far  up  among 
the  mountains,  and  the  water  was  quite  warm 
when  it  reached  the  road.  I  walked  along 
the  road  for  several  miles  and  found  it  won- 
derfully romantic  everywhere.  The  road 
itself  is  a  fine  specimen  of  engineering,  very 
expensive  to  build,  and  almost  as  good  as 
the  famous  one  built  by  Napoleon  III.,  from 
Geneva  to  Chamouni. 

We  are  here  rather  too  late  in  the  season 
to  thoroughly  enjoy  the  place  and  surround- 
ings, it  being  cold  and  the  methods  of  heat- 
ing houses  imperfect,  but  in  summer  it  must 
be  perfectly  lovely. 

There  is  another  hotel  being  erected  near 
the  one  we  are  in,  and  I  was  much  interested 
watching  their  method  of  work.  They  re- 
quired a  lot  of  earth  for  filling  in,  and  were 
transporting  it  in  baskets  from  the  moun- 
tains above.  Two  men  would  fill  a  basket, 
suspend  it  across  their  shoulders  by  a  bamboo 


24  Around  the  World. 

pole,  dump  it  where  wanted,  and  return  for 
more.  I  longed  to  present  them  with  a 
wheelbarrow,  and  show  them  how  to  move 
earth  ten  times  faster  than  they  were  doing. 
It  would  appear  that  there  are  no  saw-mills 
in  this  country,  for  the  men  were  sawing  out 
boards  and  timber  by  hand,  to  use  in  the  con- 
struction of  this  hotel.  A  stick  of  timber  a 
foot  or  two  in  diameter  was  arranged  with 
one  end  resting  on  the  ground,  and  the  other 
placed  on  a  wooden  horse  four  or  five  feet 
high  ;  a  man  then  mounted  the  stick  and 
laboriously  sawed  out  boards  with  a  hand- 
saw. The  workmen  had  no  clothing  on 
except  a  breech  cloth,  and  were  all  doing- 
constant  and  faithful  service  for,  as  we  were 
informed,  ten  hours  a  day ;  the  pay  being 
ten  cents  per  day.  For  similar  service  in  our 
country,  as  every  one  knows,  mechanics  are 
paid  from  $2.50  to  $3.50  per  day. 

We  left  the  hotel  at  nine  this  morning, 
and  took  a  trip  among  the  mountains  to 
Lake  Hakone.  I  selected  my  horse  this 
time,  and  he  proved  an  excellent  animal,  a 
small  shaggy  fellow,  kind  and  easy  trotting, 
but  much  given  to  stumbling  and  letting 
both  heels  fly  if  another  horse  came  near, 
which   little   amusement    of  his   nearly   un- 


Lake  Hakone.  25 

seated  me  several  times.  We  went  up  six 
thousand  feet  over  the  worst  of  mountain 
roads,  but  my  animal  walked  carefully,  often 
along  narrow  paths,  where  a  fall  would  have 
tumbled  us  down  hundreds  of  feet  below.  I 
enjoyed  the  ride  very  much.  It  took  six 
horses  and  seven  chairs  to  accommodate  our 
party,  each  horse  having  a  man  to  attend  to 
him,  and  each  chair  carried  by  four  men, 
making  a  large  procession.  We  arrived  in 
two  or  three  hours  at  an  hotel  on  the  lake, 
and  after  an  excellent  lunch  took  boats  and 
crossed  over  to  near  the  foot  of  Fusiyama, 
the  horses  and  men  going  around  to  meet  us. 

Fusiyama  is  the  brag  mountain  of  Japan, 
the  only  one  of  much  size  in  the  Empire,  and 
is  universally  known  and  photographed  in  all 
possible  ways.  It  is  fourteen  thousand  feet 
high,  and  is,  as  I  write,  covered  with  snow, 
and  presents  a  beautiful  appearance  from 
the   lake. 

We  landed  and  walked  over  the  moun- 
tains to  the  place  where  the  horses  had 
been  sent.  The  sun  was  terribly  hot  in 
some  places,  and  in  others  the  only  path 
was  along  the  bed  of  dry  brooks.  We 
passed  over  the  crater  of  an  active  volcano, 
steam  and  smoke  rushing  out  near  the  path. 


26  Around  the  World, 

The  guide  said  it  was  dangerous  to  wander 
from  the  path,  and  pointed  out  where  two 
native  guides  had  fallen  through  and  had 
not  been  seen  since.  There  was  no  wander- 
ing after  this  fact  was  stated.  After  two  or 
three  hours  of  dreadful  fatigue,  we  found 
our  horses,  and  I  was  very  glad  to  mount 
my  shaggy  old  fellow,  who  carried  me  safely 
over  slippery  rocks,  along  narrow  paths,  and 
a  road  (where  there  was  any)  as  bad  as  a 
road  could  be,  arriving  at  the  hotel  at  six, 
much  fatigued,  but  in  good  form  and  ready 
for  the  excellent  dinner  which  was  waiting 
our  arrival. 

After  thoroughly  enjoying  this  delightful 
spot  for  two  days,  we  started  down  the 
mountain  road  in  the  morning  and  came 
along  in  jinrickishas  at  a  tremendous  pace, 
making  the  distance — fourteen  and  one  half 
miles — to  the  railroad  in  two  hours.  We 
reached  Yokohama  at  7  P.M.,  in  season  for  a 
fine  dinner. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
KOBE. 

Kobe,  Japan,  Nov.  7,  1889. 

IN  the  2d  inst.  we  left  Yoko- 
hama by  the  Japanese  steamer 
Omi  Mars,  Captain  Island 
Vrise.  During  the  afternoon 
we  passed  an  island  on  which 
is  a  volcano  in  eruption.  It 
is  2,550  feet  high,  and  was  a  pretty  sight 
as  seen  from  the  steamer.  We  arrived  at 
this  fine  city  at  5  P.M.,  and  were  soon  in 
comfortable  quarters  at  an  excellent  hotel, 
and,  as  it  was  very  cold,  I  had  a  grate  fire 
in  my  room,  which  I  enjoyed  very  much. 
The  city  is  beautifully  situated  near  the 
shore  with  great  mountains  for  a  back- 
ground, and  the  harbor  is  very  fine.  As 
usual,  big  steamers  and  crafts  of  all  kinds 
were  to  be  seen,  representing  England, 
France,  Italy,  Russia,  and  other  countries — 
but  Stars  and  Stripes  there  were  none. 
We  left    on   the   4th   by  rail    for   Kioto, 

27 


28  Around  the  World. 

arriving  there  at  5  P.M.,  at  a  really  splendid 
hotel,  as  fine  as  any  in  Europe.     The  city  is 
a  very  old  one,  and  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  interesting  in  Japan  ;    great    numbers 
of  temples  and  palaces,  and,  in  and  around 
it,  most  lovely  scenery.     Some  of  the  tem- 
ples were  erected  seven  hundred  years  ago. 
In  the  evening  I  went  with  a  party  and  called 
on    the    American    missionaries,    who   were 
holding  a  monthly  meeting  at  one  of  their 
houses.     They  have  a  large  college  building, 
and  all  seem  greatly  interested  in  their  work. 
The    next    morning  we   started    early   to 
make  the  famous  Oigawa  Rapids  excursion. 
The  entire  party,  except  two  ladies,  went  in 
jinrickishas,    over   bad    roads   and    through 
immense  fields  of  rice,  vegetables,  and  tea- 
plants,  up  and  along  a  rough  mountain  road. 
Once    my    cooly's    carelessness   tipped    me 
over,  but,  as  good  luck  would  have  it,  toward 
the  cliff  and  not  into  the  rushing  river,  and 
no  harm  was  done.     We   had  to  leave  the 
vehicles  several  times,  the  road  having  been 
badly  washed  out    a   month    ago   by  a  big 
typhoon,  which  caused  floods  and  great  dis- 
asters all  over  the  island.     Some  thousands 
of    lives    were    lost,    and    there   was   great 
destruction    of   property. 


Kioto.  29 

We  stopped  once  to  rest,  and  then  went 
through  fields  for  a  mile  or  two  to  the  river 
Hodza,  where  we  took  three  flat-bottomed 
boats,  manned  by  three  boatmen  each,  and 
passed  down  over  numerous  rapids,  and 
through  what  in  California  would  be  called 
a  canon — mountains  from  two  thousand  to 
three  thousand  feet  high,  clothed  with  ver- 
dure to  their  tops.  The  river  is  from  two 
hundred  to  three  hundred  feet  wide  and  full 
of  rocks,  and  was  really,  it  appeared  to  me, 
very  dangerous  ;  but  the  boatmen  were  skil- 
ful, and  we  did  the  distance,  seven  miles,  in 
one  and  one  half  hours.  We  had  lunch  at  a 
tea-house,  and  returned  by  another  route  to 
the  city,  passing  through  other  fields  and 
seeing  an  immense  number  of  children  every- 
where. We  arrived  at  the  hotel  at  5  P.M., 
the  excursion  being  pronounced  by  all  to 
have  been  the  most  interesting  we  had 
enjoyed    in    Japan. 

On  the  6th  inst.  we  left  the  city  at  9  A.M. 
in  jinrickishas ',  and  passed  along  a  splendid 
wide  national  road  for  seven  miles,  to  Lake 
Viwa.  We  met  great  crowds  of  people  on 
foot  coming  to  the  city,  and  numerous 
trucks  loaded  with  stone,  timber,  rice,  and 
vegetables.     Occasionally    a    single    bullock 


30  Around  the  World. 

would  be  drawing  the  vehicles,  but  gener- 
ally this  was  done  by  two  or  four  men.  We 
met  two  processions  of  ten  trucks,  each 
loaded  with  stone.  The  trucks  were  drawn 
by  prisoners,  with  a  soldier  to  guard  each 
truck.  The  prisoners  were  comfortable- 
looking,  and  appeared  as  jolly  as  any  of  the 
travellers.  They  were  building  a  canal  from 
the  lake  to  Kioto,  nine  miles  long,  four 
miles  of  which  they  said  was  a  tunnel.  I 
examined  a  part  of  it,  and  found  it  to  be  of 
excellent  construction.  We  arrived  at  the 
lake  at  noon.  After  lunch  we  went  aboard 
a  small  steamer,  and  proceeded  to  a  point 
where  there  was  a  famous  temple,  and 
landed.  But  looking  at  temples  in  this 
country  has  become  monotonous,  and  I 
spent  my  time  sitting  under  a  wonderful 
pine  tree,  which  is  feet  eight  in  diameter,  with 
limbs  trained  out  for  fifty  feet  horizontally 
each  way.  We  steamed  around  the  lake  for 
an  hour  or  two,  and  returned  by  the  same 
road  we  went,  reaching  the  hotel  at  six. 
I  found  a  good  fire  in  a  stove  in  my  room, 
which  was  very  acceptable. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


OSAKA. 


Osaka,  Nov.  8,  1889. 

IE  left  Kioto  at  10  A.M.  this 
morning  by  rail,  and  arrived 
in  this  remarkable  city  at 
II. 15.  It  is  a  most  inter- 
esting place,  having  a  large 
number  of  canals  and  bridges, 
in  which  respect  it  resembles  Venice  more 
than  any  other  city.  It  is  the  second  city 
in  size  and  importance  in  the  Empire,  hav- 
ing about  a  million  and  a  half  of  inhabi- 
tants, and  numerous  industries,  such  as 
cotton  factories,  etc. ;  also  the  imperial  mint, 
which  we  visited. 

The  machinery  of  this  mint  was  all  made 
in  France — -with  one  or  two  exceptions,  of 
English  make — and  is  very  fine.  This  is  the 
most  exclusively  native  city  we  have  visited, 
there  being  only  seven  resident  foreigners, 
and  only  one  American,  from  Charlestown, 

31 


32  Around  the  World. 

Mass.,  who  is  here  for  two  years  to  superin- 
tend the  erection  of  a  brush  factory. 

There  are  numerous  large  boats  constantly 
passing  through  the  canals,  heavily  loaded 
with  cotton  and  all  kinds  of  goods,  showing 
an  extensive  commerce.  Toward  evening  I 
took  a  walk  across  a  long  bridge,  and  rested 
myself  on  a  seat  in  a  small  park  overlooking 
the  river;  but  the  people  stopped  their 
work  to  look  at  me  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
make  it  disagreeable,  and  I  returned  to  the 
hotel.  The  next  morning  we  returned  to 
our  old  quarters  in  the  hotel  at  Kobe\ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HONG-KONG. 

Hong-Kong,  Nov.  18,  1889. 


grnnrirrtnr.nr.nr.nnnnfint 


1EAVING  Kobe  on  the  evening 
of  the  8th,  by  the  Peninsular 
and  Oriental  steamer  Ancona, 
we  arrived  here  at  seven  this 
evening.  This  line  of  steam- 
ers  has  the  contract  for  trans- 
porting the  English  mails  all  over  the  Eastern 
waters,  including  Australia,  Japan,  and  China, 
and  has  in  commission  fifty-four  vessels, 
some  of  them  of  6,000  tons,  representing 
7,000  horse-power. 

On  the  14th  and  15th  we  were  steaming 
through  the  famous  inland  sea,  the  beauty 
of  which  could  hardly  be  exaggerated  by  a 
writer  of  a  poetical  turn  of  mind, — passing 
between  Nipon,  a  large  island,  on  one  side, 
and  many  hundred  smaller  ones  on  the 
other.  The  channel  would  often  be  near 
the  shores,  where  we  could  see  the  villages 
and  cultivated  land.     The  islands  being  vol- 

33 


34  Around  the  World. 

canic,  were  in  all  sorts  of  fantastic  shapes  ; 
one  called  the  Asses'-ears  was  very  funny- 
looking.  The  water  is  very  clear  and  blue, 
the  islands  largely  cultivated  and  clothed 
with  green  to  the  summits  of  their  moun- 
tains. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th,  the  steamer 
dropped  her  anchor  at  Nagasaki,  and  we  all 
went  ashore  sight-seeing  and  shopping.  We 
rode  about  through  long  streets,  and  called 
at  several  factories  and  stores  ;  among  others, 
at  a  place  where  was  made  a  variety  of  shell- 
work,  which  was  very  pretty.  I  made  some 
purchases. 

The  owner  of  the  place  spoke  English, 
and  I  recommended  him  to  send  an  exhibi- 
tion of  his  goods  to  the  fair  which  was 
expected  to  be  opened  in  New  York  in 
1892,  and  he  astonished  me  by  asking  what 
country  New  York  was  in  ?  But  life  being 
too  short  for  me  to  teach  him  the  rudiments 
of  geography,  I  paid  for  my  purchase,  and 
came  away. 

We  went  to  see  more  temples.  In  the 
grounds  near  one  of  them  were  two  small 
trees  and  on  a  stone  near  it  was  engraved, 
"  Planted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gen.  Grant,  1879." 

We  had  an  excellent  lunch  at  the  Hotel 


Nagasaki.  3  5 

Bellevue,  took  another  trip  around  the  city, 
and  came  back  to  the  ship  at  6  P.M. 

The  harbor  is  one  of  great  beauty,  nearly 
landlocked,  and  surrounded  by  hills  covered 
with  verdure.  It  was  crowded  with  ships, 
three  Russian  men-of-war,  one  American,  and 
several  English. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  lovely  than 
the  trip  from  Nagasaki  to  this  port — the  sea 
as  smooth  as  a  pond,  weather  warm,  and 
every  thing  quite  agreeable  and  comfortable. 

We  came  up  the  bay  last  evening  between 
four  and  six.  It  was  a  splendid  show.  One 
of  the  finest  harbors  in  the  world,  eleven 
miles  long  and  from  two  to  five  wide.  The 
islands  and  mountains  covered  with  verdure. 

The  island  of  Hong-Kong  was  taken  pos- 
session of  by  the  British  after  the  war  with 
China  in  1842,  and  now  has  a  population  of 
one  hundred  and  forty  thousand. 

We  left  the  steamer  after  dark  in  a  tug, 
and  had  a  fine  view  of  the  city  of  Victoria ; 
the  streets  and  buildings  covering  the  hills 
for  a  long  distance,  and  the  vessels  in  the 
harbor  being  brilliantly  lighted,  presented  a 
splendid  appearance  as  we  approached. 

We  soon  took  possession  of  rooms  previ- 
ously engaged  at  the  Hong-Kong  Hotel,  and 


36  Around  the  World. 

found  it  to  be  in  all  respects  first-class,  in- 
cluding an  Otis  elevator  furnished  by  their 
London  house.  The  waiters  are  all  Chinese, 
tall  and  good-looking,  and  dressed  in  long 
blue  night-gowns  or  frocks. 

This  city  surpasses  Gibraltar  in  the  num- 
ber of  nationalities  one  sees  in  the  streets ; 
every  nation  on  earth  appearing  to  be  repre- 
sented, and  I  am  much  interested  in  looking 
at  them  as  they  pass. 

The  policemen  are  a  sight — tall,  black  fel- 
lows from  the  Malay  Peninsula.  Their  uni- 
form is  the  same  as  worn  by  those  in  New 
York,  except  a  large  red  turban,  which  gives 
them  a  very  imposing  appearance. 

Passing  for  a  mile  or  so  alongside  the  water 
front  between  5  and  6  P.M.  I  found  that  hun- 
dreds of  boats  had  returned  from  fishing,  or 
other  business,  and  were  tied  to  the  piers, 
bows  on,  giving  me  a  chance  to  see  this 
phase  of  Chinese  life,  which  had  always  in- 
terested me  when  reading  about  it.  They 
were  all  having  their  suppers, — a  family  of 
ten,  sitting  in  a  circle  with  a  big  bowl  of 
food,  apparently  rice,  in  the  centre.  Each 
person  had  a  small  bowl,  which  was  often 
replenished,  and  the  food  eaten  with  chop- 
sticks.    The  boat  was  their  home,  their  sole 


Hong-Kong.  3  7 

residence.  In  one  case  a  small  boy  was  eat- 
ing and  his  mother  was  boxing  his  ears  very 
roughly.  Except  the  children,  no  one  paid 
any  attention  to  me  ;  this  being  an  English 
city  the  people  are  accustomed  to  foreign- 
ers. 

One  morning  we  called  jinrickishas  and 
went  on  a  ten  minutes'  trip  to  the  foot  of 
the  mountains,  which  are  back  of  the  city, 
and  there  entered  a  cable  tramway  car,  which 
took  us  up  a  very  steep  incline,  a  mile  or  so, 
to  a  station,  and  then  we  took  sedan  chairs 
and  continued  our  trip  to  the  top  of  Mount 
Victoria,  1,825  feet  high.  From  there  we 
looked  down  upon  the  bay,  the  city,  many 
islands,  and  the  mainland  of  China  on  the 
opposite  shores — a  scene  of  unsurpassed 
magnificence.  The  big  steamers  in  the 
beautiful  bay  looked  like  canoes  on  the 
calm  waters  of  an   inland  lake. 

The  island  is  a  series  of  mountains,  over, 
around,  and  through  which  are  built  splen- 
did roads,  near  which  are  many  beautiful 
residences,  where  the  governor  and  wealthy 
people  reside. 

We  looked  about  for  a  couple  of  hours 
and  then  took  the  tramway  down.  Some  of 
the   more  timid   of   the  party  preferred  to 


38  Around  the  World, 

come  all  the  way  down  in  the  sedans,  and 
said  they  had  a  delightful  trip. 

The  sedan  I  was  in  was  carried  by  two 
men,  who  were  very  picturesque,  their  bronze 
bodies  shining  in  the  sun.  Their  bare  feet 
pressed  the  ground  with  a  sure  tread.  Some- 
times I  have  seen  a  sedan  carried  by  four 
men  with  white  trousers  and  red  sacks,  their 
heads  covered  by  large  bamboo  hats,  and 
altogether  presenting  a  very  attractive  ap- 
pearance. 

The  thermometer  on  the  top  of  Mount 
Victoria  registered  only  sixty-five  degrees, 
but  I  never  felt  such  heat  in  July  at  home. 
However,  when  in  Japan  I  suffered  so  much 
from  cold  weather  that  I  am  quite  glad  to 
have  some  of  the  other  kind  now. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

CANTON. 

Canton,  China,  Nov.  21,  1889. 

jte  p«rNR0M  Hong-Kong  we  sailed  on 

Wk  P^^i  the  2Ist  inst*  at  S  A,M"  ^or 
j'Sj  ftl    pgi     this  city,  by  the  fine  English 

■E>  *3E^i  steamer  Hankow,  Captain 
jBjgJ13*lli     Lloyd,    and    arrived    at    2.30 

P.M. 

There  being  but  one  hotel  here,  the  Ori- 
ental, and  that  a  very  poor  one  at  that,  we 
made  use  of  the  English  passenger  boats  as 
hotels  during  our  stay,  and  found  them  ex- 
cellent in  all  ways ;  large,  clean  rooms  and 
table  very  fine,  including  all  kinds  of  wines 
and  beer  furnished  gratis,  and  wood-cock, 
and  snipe  every  day. 

Leaving  the  beautiful  harbor  of  Hong- 
Kong,  with  its  immense  fortifications,  we 
passed  into  the  Canton  River,  a  mile  or  two 
wide  for  many  miles  from  its  mouth,  and 
having  high  mountains  on  each  side,  covered 
with    green    trees   and    grass.      There   were 

39 


40  Around  the  World. 

great  fortifications  all  along,  armed  with  big 
Krupp  guns.  We  saw  large  numbers  of  the 
national  boats,  called  sampans,  and  many 
village,  houses,  and  tents. 

As  we  approached  Canton  the  river  nar- 
rowed to  about  a  thousand  feet,  and  I  was 
able  to  closely  observe  the  country.  Banana 
trees  lined  the  shores  for  many  miles,  sugar- 
cane and  rice  fields  stretched  as  far  as  I 
could  see.  Scattered  all  along  the  country 
and  in  the  city  big  brick  buildings  one  hun- 
dred feet  square  and  six  stories  high  were 
very  prominent.  These  were  pawnbrokers' 
establishments. 

As  we  approached  the  city,  the  largest 
building  seen  was  a  Catholic  cathedral,  with 
two  great  towers  ;  a  splendid  edifice,  but  not 
yet  finished. 

We  had  an  excellent  lunch  on  the  steamer, 
and  then  went  in  sedan  chairs  to  call  on  Mr. 
Charles  Seymour,  the  United  States  Consul, 
and  his  wife.  After  being  kindly  entertained 
in  their  beautiful  residence,  we  returned  to 
the  boat,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day 
and  evening  watching  the  wonderful  life  on 
the  river. 

There  was  a  ferry-house  near,  and  I  learned 
that  the  cost  of  ferrying  across  the  river  was 


Canton.  4 1 

one  fifth  of  a  cent,  and  that  a  howling  swell 
could  have  a  boat  alone  for  one  and  a  half 
cents. 

After  a  good  dinner  at  seven,  and  a  good 
night's  sleep,  we  all  took  sedan  chairs,  three 
men  to  each  chair,  the  conductor  ahead  with 
the  native  guide,  Ah  Cum,  a  fine-looking 
Chinese  gentleman  with  finger  nails  two 
inches  long,  and  the  entire  day  was  spent  in 
sight-seeing. 

All  the  streets  of  the  city  are  from  four 
to  ten  feet  wide,  no  sidewalks,  and  are  paved 
with  granite  blocks  a  foot  wide  and  six  feet 
long.  The  houses  all  have  shops  in  front. 
We  did  not  see  one  private  house  in  the  city 
outside  of  the  foreign  settlements.  The 
buildings  are  mostly  two  stories  high,  built 
of  brick,  and  the  stores  have  no  glass  or 
other  fronts ;  all  open  to  the  street. 

The  streets  are  crowded  with  an  immense 
mass  of  men,  women,  and  children,  nearly 
all  with  no  clothing  above  their  hips,  and  as 
our  men  pushed  their  way  along,  yelling  and 
screaming,  the  people  would  stop,  crowd 
around  us  with  wonder,  but  were  never 
impolite. 

We  passed  along  many  miles  of  streets, 
lined  with  stores  of  all  kinds,  the  butchers' 


42  Around  the  World. 

shops  displaying  dead  rats  hanging  up,  and 
once  I  saw  the  carcass  of  a  large  dog  with 
the  hair  scalded  off  lying  on  the  butcher's 
table  ready  to  be  cut  up  for  customers. 

It  has  rained  here  for  two  days,  and  the 
streets  are  very  dirty  and  bad-smelling. 
There  is  no  system  of  sewerage,  no  horses  or 
draft  animals.  Every  thing,  including  all 
kinds  of  sewerage  and  slops  and  building 
materials,  is  carried  along  by  men,  women, 
and  children.  Frequently  there  were  such 
masses  of  people  going  and  coming  that 
traffic  would  be  clogged,  and  we  had  much 
difficulty  in  getting  through. 

To  write  of  all  the  extraordinary  things  I 
have  seen  to-day  would  require  a  big  book, 
and  I  can  therefore  only  mention  that  we 
went  to  a  flour  mill  and  saw  them  grinding 
wheat  by  stones  forced  around  by  blind 
oxen,  just  as  they  used  to  do  in  Bible  times 
in  Palestine. 

We  went  into  a  jail  and  saw  poor  wretches 
in  irons  with  wooden  collars  around  their 
necks;  and  on  the  street  two  of  them  were 
in  the  stocks,  their  hands  and  feet  confined. 
The  court-house  was  near,  and  some  of  our 
party  attended  a  trial  which  had  been  pro- 
gressing for   some    days.     The  wife  of   the 


Canton.  43 

judge  saw  there  were  ladies  in  the  party,  and 
invited  them  into  an  interior  room  and  enter- 
tained them  with  tea. 

The  prisoner  was  accused  of  forging  the 
deed  of  a  house  and  land  belonging  to  one  of 
his  wives,  and  selling  her  furniture,  all  valued 
at  two  thousand  dollars.  Several  witnesses 
proved  that  all  this  was  so,  and  the  wife  ap- 
peared with  her  marriage  certificate.  At  the 
moment  when  our  party  arrived,  the  prisoner 
was  on  the  stand.  He  denied  that  he  was 
married  to  the  woman  or  had  ever  sold  any 
of  her  property.  The  judge  was  very  angry, 
and  said  to  the  prisoner  that  he  was  the 
greatest  liar  in  China,  and  ordered  that  he 
should  be  punished  with  150  blows  with  a 
bamboo  stick,  then  and  there.  He  was 
thrown  down,  and  held  by  several  men,  while 
another  struck  the  blows  with  great  severity 
on  his  bare  back,  causing  the  poor  wretch 
to  yell  with  agony,  so  that  he  could  be 
heard  far  out  on  the  street,  as  well  as  in  the 
interior  room,  where  the  ladies  were  drink- 
ing tea.  After  fifty  blows  had  been  given, 
the  man  was  asked  to  confess,  but  he  re- 
fused and  was  given  fifty  more  ;  and  the 
native  guide  said  that  he  would  no  doubt 
have  his  head  cut  off  in  a  few  days.  We  saw  on 


44  Around  the  World. 

our  route  a  beautiful  club-house,  and  a  clock 
two  hundred  years  old,  made  to  go  by  water 
Lunch  was  served  in  a  splendid  seven-story 
pagoda  on  a  hill  outside  of  the  city  wall, 
from  the  top  of  which  we  looked  down  upon 
one  section  of  the  city  and  an  immense 
cemetery.  A  part  of  this  was  devoted  to 
rich  men's  tombs,  all  above  ground,  the 
peculiarities  of  which  were  that  the  coffins 
were  all  in  sight.  After  lunch  we  were 
again  rushed  through  the  crowded  streets, 
stopping  at  many  shops,  some  of  the  party 
purchasing  largely  of  silks,  satins,  crockery, 
and  curios  ;  and  at  six  we  returned  to  the 
boat,  a  very  much  instructed  but  fatigued 
party. 

In  the  evening  I  was  greatly  interested  in 
watching  what  was  going  on  in  the  family 
boats,  called  sampans,  which  were  anchored 
between  our  boat  and  the  shore.  I  counted 
from  the  steamer  164  of  them,  with  their 
sterns  towards  us.  Each  boat  had  a  kero- 
sene-oil stove,  and  in  a  frying-pan  they  were 
preparing  their  suppers,  which  consisted 
apparently  of  rice.  I  noticed  that  when  the 
woman  who  was  stirring  the  food  wished  to 
moisten  it,  she  dipped  water  from  the  river, 
in  which  was    floating    all   the  filth  of    the 


Canton.  45 

great  city.  Each  member  of  the  family  had 
a  bowl  which  he  dipped  into  the  food,  and 
proceeded  to  eat  with  chopsticks. 

There  are  many  thousand  of  such  boats  on 
the  river,  the  only  homes  of  their  occu- 
pants. 

We  spent  another  day  in  Canton,  going 
about  in  sedan  chairs,  steamers,  and  sam- 
pans, and  saw  many  places  and  objects  of 
interest ;  but  two  days  have  been  quite 
enough  for  this  city,  and  I  was  glad  to  get 
aboard  the  fine  steamer  Honam,  Captain 
Febor,  which  left  at  5.30  P.M.,  and  arrived 
at  Hong-Kong  at  1  A.M.,  we  all  going 
directly  to  the  rooms  retained  for  us  at  the 
hotel.  Here  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
a  lady  from  New  York,  Mrs.  R.  H.  L.  Town- 
send,  who  is  making  a  tour  around  the 
world,  accompanied  by  another  lady,  and 
has  accomplished  the  trip  thus  far  without 
trouble,  being  everywhere  received  with  dis- 
tinguished consideration. 


CHAPTER   X. 


HONG-KONG. 


Hong-Kong,  Dec.  3,  1889. 

|E  have  been  detained  here  ten 
[  days,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  a 
P.  and  O.  steamer,  for  which 
we  were  booked,  but  have 
23  passed  the  time  in  a  very 
delightful  manner. 
I  went  nearly  every  day  to  the  park  and 
public  gardens,  of  about  twenty  acres,  situ- 
ated several  hundred  feet  above  the  main 
street,  laid  out  in  the  best  manner,  and  con- 
taining a  great  variety  of  trees  and  flowers, 
such  as  grow  only  in  tropical  climates.  On 
one  occasion  a  friend  and  myself  were  sit- 
ting on  a  bench  near  a  handsomely  dressed 
Chinese  gentleman.  My  friend  said  :  "  See 
what  a  handsome  girl  is  coming,  and  how 
beautifully  she  is  dressed,  but  how  deplora- 
ble that  she  has  such  little  feet."  I  agreed 
with  him,  and  said  it  was  a  pity  such  a 
pretty  creature  was  obliged  to  submit  to  a 

46 


Hong-Kong.  4  7 

barbarous  custom  like  that.  The  Chinese 
gentleman  spoke  to  us  in  excellent  English, 
and  said  :  "  Do  you  think  so  ?  That  is  my 
daughter,  and  while  I  agree  with  you,  we 
feel  obliged  to  make  her  feet  small  or  no 
Chinese  gentleman  would  marry  her." 

We  made  apologies  which  were  kindly 
accepted,  and  in  a  long  conversation  with 
the  gentleman  we  learned  much  of  China, 
he  being  a  resident  of  Canton,  who  had 
been  educated  in  the  United  States.  I  can- 
not agree  with  my  Chinese  friend  that  it 
will  be  so  long  a  time  before  China  will  be 
opened  to  European  civilization,  for  her 
332,000,000  people  are  beginning  to  feel 
the  pressure  of  surrounding  nations;  Rus- 
sia on  the  north,  and  England,  Germany, 
France,  and  Italy  on  her  sea-coasts,  and 
above  all  the  example  of  the  wonderful  ad- 
vances made  by  Japan  are  having  strong 
influences  upon  China.  China  has  now  for 
a  Prime-Minister,  Li  Hung  Chang,  a  very 
great  man,  the  equal  of  Bismarck  or  Glad- 
stone, and  the  young  Emperor  has  very 
advanced  ideas.  Just  now  we  read  in  the 
newspapers  that  Li  Hung  Chang  had  caused 
a  system  of  railways  to  be  laid  out,  to  run 
all  over  the  vast  empire,  but  it  appears  that 


48  Around  the  World. 

the  religious  authorities  have  some  sort  of  a 
veto  on  political  actions,  and  because  one  of 
the  gates  at  Pekin  had  been  destroyed  by 
fire,  which  they  attributed  to  the  anger  of 
the  gods  on  account  of  the  attempt  to  build 
railroads,  the  invention  of  "  foreign  devils," 
they  would  not  consent,  and  consequently 
the  railroad  plan  was  abandoned  for  the 
present.  There  is  only  one  railroad  in  the 
Empire,  up  north,  running  from  a  coal  mine 
to  the  sea,  eighty  miles  long. 

The  Emperor  has,  in  his  extensive  palace 
grounds  at  Pekin,  a  miniature  railroad,  much 
like  the  one  which  was  in  the  grounds  of  the 
Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia  in 
1876,  with  a  locomotive  and  car  attached, 
which  was  built  and  presented  to  him  by 
the  French,  and  he  is  said  to  be  very  much 
pleased  riding  about  on  it. 

I  think  it  a  misfortune  to  China,  and  to 
this  country,  that  our  great  general,  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  was  not  permitted  to  live  a  few 
years  longer,  for  through  the  great  friend- 
ship of  Li  Hung  Chang  for  him,  and  the 
high  regard  in  which  he  was  held,  not  only 
by  all  the  rulers  of  the  Asiatic  countries,  but 
by  the  people  themselves,  it  is  more  than 
likely  that  we  would  have  seen  China  opened 


Hong-Kong.  49 

to  modern  civilization,  as  Japan  has  been, 
and  the  United  States  of  America  reaping 
the  advantages  of  close  commercial  relations 
with  her,  and  at  the  same  time  amicably 
restricting  the  emigration  of  her  people  to 
this  country. 

One  afternoon  we  hired  a  steam  yacht  and 
went  about  the  harbor  and  partly  around 
the  island.  We  stopped  to  examine  a  dry 
dock,  where  a  large  steamer  was  being  re- 
paired, and  I  was  delighted  to  see  that  one 
of  the  big  pumps  used  for  pumping  the 
water  out  of  the  dock  was  made  by  the  A. 
S.  Cameron  Co.,  of  New  York,  for  you 
do  not  often  see  any  thing  in  this  part  of 
the  world  to  remind  you  of  home, — kerosene 
oil,  Singer's  sewing-machines,  and  clocks  be- 
ing about  all.  The  English  appear  to  supply 
nearly  every  thing  to  the  countless  millions 
of  this  Eastern  country,  owing,  of  course,  to 
the  fact  that  their  government  does  so  much 
to  forward  the  interests  of  her  merchants 
and  manufacturers,  and  I  think  it  only  right 
to  say  that  wherever  you  see  a  British  flag 
in  this  part  of  the  word  there  follows  it 
Christianity,  civilization  in  all  its  advanced 
phases,  and  safety  to  life  and  property,  and 
not  anywhere  is  the  great  contrast  between 


5<d  Around  the  World, 

civilization  and  semi-barbarism  shown  so 
strongly  as  in  the  comforts  and  beauties 
of  this  lovely  city  as  against  the  horrors  of 
Canton. 

This  is  an  important  commercial  city.  The 
governor  stated  in  a  late  message  that  it  was 
the  third  or  fourth  export  city  in  the  world. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  building  going  on  up 
the  mountains,  the  bricks  for  which  are  being 
carried  from  the  vessels  to  their  destinations 
by  coolies,  each  man  carrying  two  baskets 
suspended  from  a  bamboo  stick  across  his 
shoulders,  each  basket  containing  eighteen 
large  bricks.  The  mountains  are  very  steep, 
and  the  distance  about  two  miles,  so  that  the 
men  can  only  make  two  or  three  trips  a  day, 
and  their  pay  is  five  cents  a  trip. 

The  fine  winding  roads  were  alive  with 
these  men ;  a  thousand  or  more  were  to  be 
seen  at  one  time. 


CHAPTER   XI. 


SINGAPORE. 


Singapore,  Dec.  9,  1889. 

N  the   4th   instant  we  left  the 
beautiful  island  of  Hong-Kong 
and    the    city  of   Victoria  by 
the      steamer      Kaisar-i-Hind 
(Empress     of      India).       The 
accommodations  and  appoint- 
ments   of    the    steamer    were    first-class  — 
electric    lights,    plenty    of    ice,    and    every 
convenience. 

On  Sunday  morning  the  English  service 
was  read  from  the  prayer-book  by  the  cap- 
tain to  a  congregation  consisting  of  all  of  the 
officers  and  most  of  the  passengers.  Before 
this  there  was  a  parade  of  the  crew  and  ser- 
vants,— some  sixty  Lascars,  black,  sharp-look- 
ing fellows  dressed  in  frocks  and  bright 
head-dresses,  and  looking  very  fine. 

Yesterday  was  very  hot.  We  were  near- 
ing  the  equator,  and  the  captain  had  punkas 
put  up  in  the  dining  cabin.     A  Lascar  boy 

51 


52  Around  the  World. 

pulled  the  strings  running  over  pulleys  and 
fanned  us  during  meal  times,  which  was  very 
agreeable. 

Again  I  have  to  note  how  lonely  these 
sea  voyages  are.  Since  we  left  Hong-Kong, 
five  days,  not  a  craft  has  been  seen,  only  a 
wide  waste  of  water,  generally  as  smooth  as 
a  pond. 

The  steamer  arrived  at  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  was  soon  surrounded  by  boats,  each 
containing  two  or  three  boys.  The  passen- 
gers threw  silver  pieces  into  the  water,  and 
the  boys  would  dive  after  them,  and  seemed 
to  get  them  every  time.  It  was  great  fun 
to  watch  them.  A  little  bald-headed  fellow 
not  more  than  six  years  old,  attracted  my 
attention,  and  I  threw  some  bright  pieces 
near  his  boat.  Over  he  went  and  caught 
them  every  time,  and  was  pulled  into  the 
boat  by  his  older  companion,  triumphantly 
holding  up  the  pieces. 

We  came  ashore  and  were  soon  in  our 
rooms  in  the  large  and  first-rate  Hotel  de 
1' Europe. 

We  were  within  about  fifty  miles  of  the 
equator,  and  the  heat  was  intense.  After 
resting  we  took  carriages,  it  being  quite  a 
comfort  to  have  them  once  more,  and  drove 


Singapore,  5  3 

over  fine  roads,  past  splendid  government 
and  other  buildings,  two  or  three  miles  out 
to  a  botanical  garden,  said  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  world,  all  in  perfect  order,  with 
trees  and  plants  such  as  can  be  seen  only 
in  the  tropics ;  tall  trees,  with  clusters  of 
cocoa-nuts  on  them,  and  the  fan  palm,  a 
great  curiosity  to  me,  being  in  the  shape  of 
a  fan  fifty  feet  high.  Pine-apples  were  every- 
where, for  this  is  the  home  of  that  fine  fruit ; 
big  trees,  covered  with  red  and  white  flowers, 
and  plants  of  great  variety  and  beauty,  all  in 
a  park  of  a  hundred  acres  or  more  ;  houses 
filled  with  fine  orchids,  and  others  containing 
beautiful  native  birds.  It  was  very  hot — 
ninety  degrees  or  so — and  oppressive,  but  we 
all  stood  it  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  most  of 
our  party,  who  had  seen  many  such  shows  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  said  that  they  had  never 
seen  any  thing  approaching  this  for  variety 
and  beauty.  We  then  took  our  carriages  and 
returned  to  the  hotel  for  lunch,  and  im- 
mediately afterwards  went  on  another  tour 
around  the  well-built,  handsome  city.  Fine 
stores  and  public  buildings,  perfect  pave- 
ments, splendid  turn-outs,  and  all  the  ap- 
pliances of  civilization  were  everywhere. 
No    more   babies    carried    pickapack,    as    in 


54  Around  the  World. 

Japan  and  China.  They  were  often  nude, 
but  looked  well  cared-for,  comfortable,  and 
happy. 

The  natives  are  of  the  Malay  race,  and 
their  dress  is  of  the  brightest,  generally  a 
frock  of  white  or  red  cotton  and  no  trousers. 
We  returned  to  the  hotel  at  five,  and  after 
resting  an  hour  had  an  excellent  dinner. 
Being  very  hungry  I  partookof  all  the  courses, 
the  dinner  being  a  la  Russe.  One  incident 
was  particularly  tropical.  The  ceiling  and 
sides  of  the  dining-room  were  covered  with 
little  green  lizards,  crawling  about  and  catch- 
ing flies.  Some  of  the  ladies  were  nervous, 
fearing  that  the  creatures  might  drop  into 
the  soup  or  on  their  hair,  but  I  did  not 
mind,  knowing  them  to  be  harmless.  The 
landlord,  who  has  been  here  twenty-eight 
years,  thinks  that  I  should  stay  here  at  least 
a  week  and  go  on  to  the  Malay  Peninsula  to 
shoot  tigers,  but  I  have  concluded  to  post- 
pone that  kind  of  amusement  until  I  come 
again.  I  find  it  best  to  be  very  temperate  in 
this  terribly  hot  country,  limiting  my  bever- 
ages to  soda  and  Apollinaris  water,  and  am 
very  thankful  to  have  plenty  of  ice,  which  is 
now  manufactured  in  this  city  and  all  other 
large  cities  in  the  East.     The  P.  &  O.  line 


Singapore.  5  5 

of  steamers  alone  spends  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  annually  for  ice. 

When  I  retired  at  night  I  found  that  they 
had  not  provided  me  with  even  a  sheet 
for  a  cover ;  only  a  mosquito  net.  The 
Chinese  chamber-man  was  sleeping  in  front 
of  my  door,  but  I  did  not  like  to  disturb 
him,  so  I  turned  in,  and  it  being  very  hot  I 
got  along  very  well,  and  had  a  good  night's 
rest. 

I  was  out  early  in  the  morning,  and  was 
greatly  interested  in  looking  at  the  sights  of 
the  city.  They  were  making  a  park  of  large 
dimensions,  fronting  the  water,  and  a  hun- 
dred or  more  wagons  were  used  to  transport 
the  dirt  from  the  country.  Each  wagon  was 
drawn  by  a  pair  of  bullocks  driven  by  a 
Malay.  These  drivers  were  bright-eyed, 
smart-looking  men,  with  nothing  on  but  a 
cloth  around  their  loins,  and  no  covering  to 
their  heads.  They  sat  on  the  tongues  of 
the  wagons,  and  I  was  much  amused  to  see 
that  when  they  wanted  the  bullocks  to  turn 
a  corner  they  twisted  their  tails,  and  the 
obedient  beasts  at  once  went  in  the  direction 
indicated. 

I  saw  a  great  drove  of  goats  passing  along, 
as  many  as  four  hundred,  and  men  from  all 


56 


Around  the  World. 


countries  in  great  variety  of  dress.  Singapore 
is  a  very  busy  place,  being  the  chief  city  of 
the  Straits  Settlements,  whence  comes  a 
larger  part  of  the  tin  used  in  such  immense 
quantities  all  over  the  world.  The  familar 
ingots  of  tin  were  to  be  seen  on  the  streets 
and  sidewalks  and  being  trucked  towards  the 
big  steamers. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


ON   BOARD  THE  "  KAISAR-I-HIND.' 


Steamer  "  Kaisar-i-Hind,"  off  Sumatra, 

Dec.  13,  1889. 

FTER  mailing  letters  on  the 
10th  instant  at  Singapore  we 
went  on  board  the  steamer  at 
4  P.M.,  and  started  again  on 
our  voyage.  We  were  then 
only  forty-five  miles  from  the 
equator,  and  though  the  thermometer  re- 
corded only  eighty  degrees,  it  seemed  much 
as  if  it  were  over  a  hundred.  However,  as 
soon  as  the  steamer  got  under  way  it  was 
quite  comfortable.  After  a  day  and  two 
nights  we  arrived  at  Penang,  and  at  9  A.M. 
went  ashore,  and  all  took  carriages  for  a 
drive  through  one  of  the  prettiest  and  hot- 
test towns  in  the  world.  We  were  driven 
along  wide,  beautifully  paved,  clean  streets 
for  three  miles  to  a  water-fall  and  a  botanical 
garden,  and  it  was  a  drive  well  worth  having. 
On  both  sides  of  the  road  were  plantations 

57 


58  Around  the  World. 

of  cocoa-nut  trees,  bearing  ripe  fruit,  and 
once  I  saw  a  large  nut  fall  to  the  ground  with 
a  dull  thud. 

Our  tough  little  horse,  driven  by  a  black 
man  from  India,  trotted  along  very  fast. 
The  road  was  lined  with  many  strange  trees 
laden  with  fruit,  and  the  fields  near  by  were 
covered  with  brilliant  flowers. 

We  got  out  of  the  carriage  at  the  botani- 
cal garden  and  walked  about  for  a  short 
time,  but  were  glad  to  get  in  again,  as  the 
sun  was  intensely  hot.  Returning  we  trav- 
ersed the  same  beautiful  road,  viewing  the 
cocoa-nut  trees,  the  mango,  and  many 
strange  and  beautiful  fruits  and  flowers. 

Workmen  were  engaged  getting  out  stone 
and  paving  the  roads,  their  black  backs 
shining  in  the  hot  sun.  Here  we  saw  travel- 
ling on  the  road  many  gayly  dressed  Indian 
women,  with  bright  silver  ornaments  on  their 
arms  and  in  their  noses.  We  drove  around 
the  soldiers'  barracks  and  hospitals  and 
through  the  handsome  streets  of  the  town, 
and  at  ten  o'clock  took  a  boat  to  the  steamer, 
much  pleased  by  our  little  trip  ashore,  which 
gave  us  a  change  before  starting  on  the  voy- 
age for  Colombo.  We  steamed  away  once 
more,  and  soon  after  lunch,  while  I  was  read- 


Steamer   " Kaiser '-i- Hind"         59 

ing  in  my  state-room,  I  heard  a  commotion 
on  deck,  and,  running  up,  reached  there  just 
as  the  captain  did.  "  Man  overboard  !  "  was 
the  cry,  and  the  sailors  were  crawling  into  a 
boat  like  cats.  The  second  officer  was  al- 
ready there,  and  in  two  minutes  the  boat  was 
lowered  into  the  water,  and  was  off.  I 
looked  over  the  side  of  the  vessel  and  saw 
that  a  patent  buoy  and  a  life-preserver  had 
been  thrown  over.  With  a  glass  I  could  see 
the  black  fellow  swimming  for  the  buoy, 
which  he  soon  reached,  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  boat  picked  him  up  and  returned 
with  him  to  the  ship  in  just  eighteen  min- 
utes from  the  time  she  left.  Wonderful  dis- 
cipline was  displayed,  not  a  loud  word  being 
spoken.  After  the  boat  was  hauled  up  the 
captain  touched  a  bell,  and  away  we  went 
again. 

The  patent  buoy  before  mentioned  had 
attached  to  it  a  tin  box,  containing  some 
sandwiches  and  a  small  flask  of  whiskey, 
which  the  rescued  sailor  had  confiscated 
before  the  arrival  of  the  boat. 

At  four  o'clock  one  morning  a  boy  called 
me  to  get  up  and  see  the  famous  Southern 
Cross.  I  at  once  joined  the  company,  and 
looked    upon    four  stars,  which    formed   an 


6o 


Around  the  World. 


immense  and  perfect  cross,  very  beautiful 
to  behold.  It  was  a  splendid  night,  the 
bright  moon  shining  on  the  water,  and 
countless  stars  above,  many  of  which  are 
never  seen  except  in  this  latitude. 


vWtfWWli 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

COLOMBO. 

Colombo,  Ceylon,  Dec.  18,  1889. 

jIX  days  from  Singapore,  we 
arrived  here  on  the  evening 
of  the  16th  instant,  and  at 
once  went  to  our  rooms  at  the 
Grand  Oriental  Hotel,  which 
had  been  engaged  some  weeks 
in  advance.  Colombo  is  the  capital  of  Cey- 
lon, and  has  a  population  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand,  and  many  large  and 
handsome  buildings. 

As  we  passed  along  the  coast  last  evening 
immense  groves  of  cocoa-nut  trees  were  seen 
from  the  vessel,  extending  along  the  shore 
for  thirty  miles  or  so.  It  was  the  hottest 
weather  yet  experienced,  not  more  than 
eighty  degrees,  as  shown  by  the  thermome- 
ter, but  very  oppressive. 

This  morning,  after  an  excellent  breakfast 
at  the  hotel,  I  went  with  all  the  party  on  a 
drive  in  and  around  the  city.     It  was  dread- 

61 


62  Around  the  World, 

fully  hot,  and  we  had  about  such  an  enter- 
tainment as  one  might  expect  driving  around 
New  York  or  Chicago  streets  on  a  July 
day,  with  the  thermometer  at  ninety  degrees. 
The  streets  and  roads  are  clean,  wide,  and  in 
perfect  order.  We  stopped  at  a  large  market, 
where  the  natives  crowded  around  us,  and 
where  were  tropical  fruits  of  many  kinds, 
some  of  which  I  had  never  heard  of  before. 
We  passed  many  groves  of  cocoa-nut  and 
banana  trees  laden  with  fruit,  public  and 
private  buildings,  and  large  and  handsome 
bungalows,  churches,  and  schools,  but  the 
people  who  crowded  the  streets  were  the 
most  interesting  to  see — Indians,  Malays, 
Singhalese,  and  Chinese,  dressed  in  their 
native  costumes,  all  industrious,  orderly,  and 
civil. 

We  called  upon  Arabi  Pasha,  who  was 
banished  from  Egypt  some  years  ago  for 
heading  a  rebellion  against  the  Khedive. 
His  residence  is  a  fine  bungalow,  surrounded 
by  handsome  grounds.  He  is  a  portly  gen- 
tleman of  about  sixty-five  years,  speaking 
good  English,  and  appeared  very  glad  to  see 
us.  We  spent  a  short  half-hour  talking  with 
him,  and  then  took  our  leave  and  continued 
our  tour  around  the  city.     We  saw  numer- 


Colombo.  63 

ous  shops  and  plantations  once  more,  and 
studied  the  remarkable  people  we  met,  and 
were  especially  interested  by  the  young  chil- 
dren swarming  in  the  streets  everywhere, 
and  looking  like  little  animated  bronze 
statues. 

We  went  through  a  fine  museum  and  saw 
a  great  collection  of  historical  objects  be- 
longing to  Ceylon,  one  being  a  rudely 
sculptured  figure  of  a  lion  carved  in  stone 
three  hundred  years  ago. 

This  island  is  the  great  producer  of  the 
ruby,  sapphire,  and  pearl,  dealers  in  which 
have  stores  near,  and  are  allowed  to  come 
around  the  hotel.  They  are  very  trouble- 
some in  their  attentions,  and,  as  is  common 
among  merchants  in  this  part  of  the  world, 
ask  two  or  three  times  more  than  they  ex- 
pect to  get  for  their  goods. 

I  intended  to  go  up  to  the  mines,  fifty 
miles  off,  where  they  obtain  the  ruby  and 
sapphire,  but  was  prevented  from  doing  so. 
I  also  wished  to  see  the  divers  go  after 
pearl-oysters,  but  a  couple  of  weeks  ago  one 
of  them  went  down  in  the  water  and  never 
came  up,  a  shark  having  caught  him.  Since 
this  accident  none  of  his  companions  can  be 
induced  to  do  any  diving,  and  for  the  pres- 


64  Around  the  World, 

ent  the  industry,  which  is  a  very  large  and 
important  one,  is  paralyzed. 

There  are  no  fat  people  in  this  country, 
and  no  drunkards.  In  a  Buddhist  temple, 
which  I  saw  yesterday,  was  a  painting  of  a 
drunkard.  The  culprit  was  represented  in 
hell,  enduring  great  agony,  being  pierced 
with  daggers,  and  the  ugliest-looking  devil, 
with  tusks  like  fish-hooks,  standing  over 
him,  about  to  pull  his  teeth  with  big  pin- 
cers. Any  follower  of  Buddha  looking  at 
that  picture  would  surely  join  a  temperance 
society. 

One  morning,  accompanied  by  two  friends, 
I  took  a  carriage  and  drove  seven  miles 
out  into  the  country,  through  the  native 
city,  and  along  perfect  country  roads,  pass- 
ing through  wonderful  tropical  plantations 
and  beautiful  flowers  everywhere.  Men  and 
women  stared  at  us  as  we  passed,  and  crowds 
of  bright,  laughing  children  ran  after  the 
carriage,  begging  for  pennies.  One  man  had 
a  basket  of  beautiful  pink  lotus  flowers,  one 
of  which  we  bought. 

At  length  we  came  to  the  oldest  temple 
on  the  island,  2,300  years  old,  and  where 
Buddha  himself  preached, — a  splendid  tem- 
ple, the  walls  of  which  were  covered  with 


Colombo.  65 

highly  colored  paintings,  representing  Tem- 
perance, Prudence,  Fortitude,  and  Justice. 
There  was  the  usual  big  statue  of  Buddha 
and  the  usual  worshippers. 

The  ride  was  a  delightful  one,  the  children 
numerous  and  very  funny,  and  beggars  with- 
out number. 

Another  day  we  went  by  rail  twenty-eight 
miles  along  the  coast  to  the  end  of  the  road, 
the  entire  distance  through  groves  of  cocoa- 
nut  trees  extending  as  far  back  from  the 
water  as  we  could  see.  Once  we  passed 
under  a  banyan  tree,  the  limbs  of  which  had 
been  trained  over  the  road  twenty  feet  high, 
in  shape  of  an  arch,  then  taking  root  and 
forming  other  trees  on  the  opposite  side. 
We  spent  the  day  at  Lavini,  a  delightful 
sea-coast  hotel,  and  enjoyed  ourselves  very 
much.  It  was  quite  a  contrast  to  the  hot 
city  whither  we  returned  for  an  eight-o'clock 
dinner. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


NEWAVA  ELIYA. 


Newava  Eliya,  Ceylon, 
Dec .  20,  1889. 

HIS  is  the  sanitarium  of  Cey- 
lon, 133  miles  from  Colombo 
and  6,200  feet  above  the  sea 
level ;  a  cool  and  delightful 
valley    of   a   thousand    acres 

■uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuua 

or  so,  surrounded  by  high 
mountains,  with  a  lake  in  the  middle, — 
a  very  ideal  place  for  a  sanitarium.  The 
thermometer  averages  seventy  degrees. 

We  left  Colombo  at  9  A.M.  on  the  19th  in- 
stant, in  a  first-class  car  engaged  for  the  party, 
and  passed  over  a  six-feet-gauge  road,  built 
in  the  most  substantial  manner,  with  an  extra 
guard-rail  in  dangerous  places.  There  were 
iron  bridges  and  stone  depots  at  various 
points,  each  depot  surrounded  by  a  beauti- 
ful and  well-kept  flower-garden. 

For  the  first  fifty  miles  the  road  passed 
through  a  flat  country  of  beautiful  fields  and 

66 


Newava  Eliya.  67 

cocoa-nut  trees,  and  then  we  commenced  to 
go  up  and  around  high  mountains,  the  build- 
ing of  the  road  being  a  great  engineering 
triumph.  The  road  was  lined  on  both  sides 
for  a  long  distance  with  a  hedge  of  the 
large-leafed  spiked  aloe,  from  five  to  six  feet 
high,  and  impenetrable  by  man  or  beast,  and 
then  we  began  to  see  tropical  vegetation  in 
all  its  luxuriant  growth.  Along  the  sides  of 
the  road  and  far  as  the  eye  could  see  were 
the  blooming  lantana,  the  sun-flower,  and 
many  large  trees  covered  with  yellow,  white, 
and  red  flowers  in  great  profusion.  For  the 
first  time  we  saw  tea,  coffee,  and  cinchona 
plantations,  the  mountains  being  often  cov- 
ered to  their  tops  with  tea-plants,  sturdy 
bushes  about  two  feet  high,  and  I  should 
say  that  from  the  time  we  commenced  to 
see  them  there  were  many  thousand  acres. 

From  time  to  time  we  could  see  the  natives 
in  parties  of  fifty  or  more  picking  the  leaves 
and  putting  them  into  large  baskets  and  car- 
rying them  on  their  heads  to  the  dry-houses, 
or  depots,  and  very  picturesque  they  looked 
in  their  petticoats  of  many  colors,  their  bare 
backs  glistening  in  the  sun.  The  natives 
have  on  petticoats  when  they  wear  any 
thing.     Generally  they  are  bare-headed,  but 


68  Around  the  World. 

sometimes  sport  gay-colored  turbans.  They 
are  a  fine  race — bright,  sharp,  intelligent, 
cleanly,  good-natured,  and  temperate.  The 
women  are  handsome,  and  wear  silver  orna- 
ments in  their  noses  and  ears. 

The  hotel  here  is  an  old  vice-regal  bunga- 
low, and  is  like  a  private  house.  After 
getting  warmed  by  a  wood  fire  I  retired  and 
slept  well  all  night.  In  the  morning,  before 
breakfast,  I  walked  out  to  the  woods  to  see 
the  monkeys,  but  they  did  not  appear,  and 
I  did  not  dare  to  go  far  from  the  trodden 
path  on  account  of  the  cobras,  which  abound 
in  these  parts.  After  breakfast  we  took  car- 
riages down  the  mountain  for  five  miles,  over 
as  fine  a  road  as  any  in  Europe,  to  the  depot, 
and  to  our  car,  which  had  been  retained  for 
us,  and  soon  we  were  on  our  way  to  Kandy, 
our  next  stopping-place. 

A  missionary  accompanied  us  down  the 
mountains,  who  had  been  twenty-seven  years 
in  the  country,  and  entertained  us  with  tales 
of  snakes  and  elephants,  and  some  account 
of  his  work  in  India  and  Ceylon.  Coffee  is 
no  longer  produced  in  Ceylon,  the  trees  hav- 
ing been  destroyed  a  dozen  years  ago  by  an 
insect,  but  an  immense  quantity  of  tea  is 
grown,  pronounced  to  be  the  finest  in  the 


Kiindy.  69 

world,  and  which  is  largely  taking  the  place 
of  that  raised  in  China  and  India. 

At  5  P.M.  we  reached  Kandy,  the  ancient 
capital  of  Ceylon,  containing  14,000  popula- 
tion,— a  fine  city,  with  many  large  buildings. 
There  is  a  lake  in  the  centre  one  and  a  half 
miles  in  circumference.  In  the  evening  we 
visited  a  large  Buddhist  temple,  erected  to 
hold  a  tooth  of  Buddha,  which  the  faithful 
regard  as  a  sacred  relic. 

On  the  2 1st  we  took  carriages  to  the  gov- 
ernment botanical  gardens,  said  to  be  the 
finest  in  the  world,  and  of  course  nothing 
like  them  is  possible  anywhere,  except  in 
the  tropics.  We  saw  giant  palms  twelve 
feet  in  diameter,  stood  beneath  the  deadly 
upas  tree  and  the  mahogany,  jujube,  almond, 
nutmeg,  clove,  mango,  ebony,  and  a  great 
grove  of  immense  rubber-trees,  and  saw  an 
immense  variety  of  bright-colored  flowers 
and  leaves.  The  gardens  cover  one  hundred 
and  eighty  acres,  and  we  spent  two  delight- 
ful hours  there,  after  which  we  drove  around 
the  city  and  through  the  extensive  park 
of  the  Governor:  returning,  we  took  the 
train  at  3  P.M.  and  arrived  at  our  hotel  in 
Colombo  at  seven,  just  in  season  to  enjoy 
the  excellent  dinner  awaiting  us. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

ON  BOARD  THE  "  ROHILLA." 

Steamer  "  Rohilla,"  near  Madras, 
Dec.  27,  1889. 

HRISTMAS  was  a  fearfully 
hot  day  in  Columbo,  ninety 
degrees  or  more,  and  I  did  not 
go  out  in  the  morning,  except 
to  look  into  an  Episcopal 
church,  which  was  handsomely 
decorated  with  flowers,  the  air  being  kept 
cool  by  fans  propelled  by  natives  standing 
outside. 

After  lunch,  accompanied  by  two  friends, 
I  drove  around  the  city  and  some  miles 
into  the  country,  over  splendid  roads.  On 
the  road  we  bought  three  cocoa-nuts  for 
five  cents,  and  opening  one,  had  a  refresh- 
ing drink. 

We  returned  at  5  P.M.  and  at  once  came 
aboard  this  ship,  one  of  the  finest  of  the 
splendid    fleet   of   the    P.  &  O.  line.     The 

70 


Steamer  "  Rohilla!'  Ji 

weather,  except  the  terrible  heat,  continues 
perfect — not  a  ripple  on  the  sea,  the  sunsets 
splendid,  and  the  starlit  nights  of  great 
loveliness. 

A  lady  from  Hartford,  Mrs.  Brown,  who 
is  well  up  in  astronomy,  pointed  out  to  me 
last  evening  many  stars  never  seen  except  in 
this  part  of  world.  A  lady  from  New  York, 
Mrs.  R.  H.  L.  Townsend,  was  taken  seriously 
ill  on  the  23d  at  the  hotel ;  she  was  confined 
to  her  rooms  for  three  days,  and  had  two 
doctors  and  a  nurse;  but  just  before  I  left 
for  the  steamer  I  was  glad  to  see  that  she 
had  recovered  so  as  to  be  able  to  take  a 
drive. 

At  the  last  moment  the  Captain  decided 
to  call  at  Madras,  where  we  shall  be  to- 
morrow, long  enough  to  go  ashore  and  see 
the  famous  city.  Four  great  steamers  left 
Colombo  the  same  evening  that  we  did,  one 
each  for  Australia,  Calcutta,  Singapore,  and 
Hong-Kong;  one  of  them  being  a  German 
vessel  of  immense  size,  7,000  tons.  On 
this  steamer  we  have  all  the  modern  im- 
provements:  Edison  lights,  an  excellent 
table,  and  always  plenty  of  ice.  Life  on 
the  ocean,  as  we  have  it,  is  very  pleasant, 
and  we  get  along  nicely,  though  they  tell  of 


72  Around  the  World. 

terrific  storms  which  rage  here  at  other 
seasons. 

The  ship  is  full  of  passengers,  largely 
English,  returning  from  Australia,  very  nice, 
kind,  and  agreeable  people.  Yesterday 
a  north  wind  sprang  up  and  it  was  de- 
lightfully cool  ;  the  passengers  were  all  on 
deck  in  groups,  a  dozen  of  the  stalwart 
young  Englishmen  playing  the  national 
game,  cricket ;  some  reading,  a  lot  of  chil- 
dren playing,  and  all  were  happy. 

In  the  evening  we  had  a  delightful  concert 
by  amateurs,  violin  playing  by  a  young  lady, 
parts  of  the  ''Bohemian  Girl"  and  other 
operas  being  rendered  in  a  superior  manner. 

The  ship  slowed  up  so  as  not  to  get  to 
Madras  before  morning,  and  it  was  literally 
sailing  on  a  summer  sea;  the  moon  sank 
down  behind  the  waters  in  a  glow,  presenting 
a  beautiful  appearance.  I  had  a  good  sleep 
all  night,  and  at  seven  in  the  morning  looked 
out  and  saw  we  were  at  Madras,  between 
two  long  break-waters.  Soon  breakfast  was 
over,  and  we  all  entered  a  big  row-boat,  pro- 
pelled by  ten  bare-backed  Hindoos  ;  the  ship 
was  surrounded  by  a  dozen  of  these  boats, 
the  crews  chattering  and  shouting,  and  on 
one  occasion  a  boy  got  overboard,  but  he 


Madras.  J  3 

did  not  mind,  swam  about  a  short  time  and 
then  got  aboard,  none  the  worse  for  his 
ducking. 

We  could  see  that  there  was  a  heavy  surf 
beating  on  the  beach,  but  when  our  boat 
struck  the  sand,  I  was  lifted  ashore  by  two 
strong  black  men,  followed  by  the  ladies  of 
the  party,  conveyed  in  a  similar  manner. 
We  took  carriages  and  drove  about  the  city, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  hottest  in  India,  but 
we  did  not  find  it  so  ;  on  the  contrary,  it 
was  very  comfortable.  We  went  through 
the  natives'  quarters,  and  evidently  they 
had  seen  white  people  before,  for  they  paid 
no  attention  to  us,  not  so  much  as  we  to 
them,  as  we  were  looking  upon  a  race  new 
to  us.  They  had  marks  on  their  foreheads, 
showing  the  caste  to  which  they  belonged. 
We  visited  the  markets,  and  saw  that  the  ban- 
yan tree  was  quite  common  in  the  squares  and 
along  the  streets,  and  passing  on  to  the  great 
fort,  we  looked  at  the  big  guns ;  then  we 
entered  St.  George's  Church,  where  there 
were  many  statues  of  famous  soldiers  who 
had  served  in  India  and  died  here.  We  called 
at  the  post-office,  a  large  and  beautiful 
building,  remarked  on  the  fine  roads,  the 
handsome  appearance  of  the  women  dressed 


74  Around  the  World. 

in  bright-colored  robes  with  silver  ornaments 
in  their  noses  and  on  their  toes,  and  then 
we  passed  on  to  the  ship,  well  pleased  that 
we  were  not  to  stop  any  longer  in  such  an 
unattractive  place. 

Sunday,  December  29,  1889. 

We  reached  the  steamer  at  noon  yester- 
day ;  the  deck  was  crowded  with  native 
merchants  trying  to  sell  mats  and  all 
kinds  of  curios,  but  presently  they  were 
driven  off  to  their  boats,  and  at  noon  the 
ship  was  put  upon  her  course,  due  north, 
everybody  comfortable  and  happy,  the  sea 
as  smooth  as  an  inland  lake.  This  morning 
we  had  a  delightful  service  on  deck,  read 
from  the  English  Prayer  Book  by  the  Cap- 
tain, assisted  by  one  of  his  officers ;  the  sing- 
ing, by  young  ladies,  was  particularly  fine, 
and  now  and  again  I  could  detect  the  sweet 
tenor  of  my  friend  from  Manchester. 

Before  the  service  the  crew  were  mustered 
and  reviewed  by  the  Captain.  There  were 
nearly  one  hundred  of  them,  mostly  Lascars, 
dressed  in  white  with  colored  turbans  and 
presenting  a  very  picturesque  appearance. 

Last  evening  I  was  interested  to  see  a  lady 
reclining  on   a  steamer  chair  on  deck,   and 


On  Board  the  "  Rohilla!'  75 

reading  by  the  light  of  a  portable  electric 
lamp  fastened  to  the  back  of  her  chair.  I 
interviewed  her  husband  this  morning,  and 
he  informed  me  that  it  was  one  of  Edison's 
inventions,  and  that  they  were  now  common 
in  London,  and  cost  twenty  dollars  each-. 
They  are  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  can 
be  carried  in  the  coat  pocket.  This  one  he 
charges  from  one  of  the  lights  on  the  ship, 
and  it  will  last  fifteen  hours. 

December  30,  1889. 

We  are  still  rushing  on  over  a  placid 
sea  at  a  moderate  rate,  as  the  ship  has 
never  made  more  than  288  miles  a  day. 
The  thermometer  marks  seventy  degrees, 
with  a  light  breeze  from  the  north,  and  warm 
woollen  clothing  is  comfortable.  This  is  a 
great  country  for  learning  practical  temper- 
ance, none  of  our  party  having  tasted  liquor 
for  a  month,  previous  experience  having 
shown  that  they  were  much  better  without  it. 

I  noticed  two  young  men  at  dinner  to- 
day who  drank  two  large  bottles  of  cham- 
pagne, but  they  will  doubtless  find  out  by 
experience  that  such  indulgences  do  not  pay 
in  this  climate.  We  are  only  12,500  miles 
from  New  York  now,  and  it  seems  quite  like 
nearing  home. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


CALCUTTA. 


Calcutta,  India,  Jan.  i,  1890. 

|E  arrived  here   yesterday,  after 
I    a  delightful  trip  from  Madras, 


!  and  at  once  went  to  our  rooms 
{  at  a  first-class  hotel,  engaged 
S3j  some  time  ago.  Mine  hap- 
pens to  be  a  wooden  barn- 
like structure  built  on  the  roof  of  a  six-story 
building,  which  gives  me  a  chance  to  look 
down  upon  the  famous  city  of  palaces  and 
immense  parks — a  great  show,  particularly 
at  night,  when  the  streets  are  illuminated  by 
gas  and  electricity. 

We  were  told  that  Calcutta  was  a  dread- 
fully hot  place,  but  last  night  I  had  my 
overcoat  on,  and  was  very  comfortable,  the 
thermometer  being  seventy-two  degrees. 

I  have  just  returned  from  a  tramp  about 
the  city,  and  find  it  one  of  the  finest  I  have 
seen — population  one  million  ;  splendid  gov- 
ernment  and    other   buildings,  great  parks, 

76 


Calcutta.  J  7 

fine  wide  streets   and  sidewalks,  and  every 
appearance  of  advanced  civilization. 

The  natives  are  a  handsome  race,  dressed 
in  their  picturesque  costumes.  White  and 
native  soldiers  in  brilliant  uniforms  are  to  be 
met  everywhere,  and  the  whole  scene  is  one 
of  great  beauty. 

A  royal  prince  is  here  to-day,  the  stores 
are  shut,  and  a  great  review  of  soldiers  is 
g-oine  on.  The  rush  for  rooms  at  the  hotels 
is  so  great  that  I  hear  of  a  Major-General  of 
the  British  army  who  is  to  sleep  in  a  bath- 
room near  us  to-night.  On  the  morning  of 
the  2d  instant  we  took  a  carriage  drive  around 
the  city,  starting  at  10  A.M.  and  returning 
at   1.30. 

The  Botanical  Gardens  established  in  1792 
are  very  fine  and  well  kept,  but  nothing  like 
the  one  in  Kandy,  Ceylon.  We  saw  the 
famous  banyan  tree,  one  hundred  years  old, 
the  main  trunk  of  which  is  42  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, the  crown  850  feet  in  circum- 
ference ;  there  being  234  roots  which  strike 
down  from  the  branches  into  the  earth. 
These  roots  and  branches  become  little  trees 
themselves.  In  the  garden  were  two  beauti- 
ful avenues  of  palm  trees,  each  a  quarter  of 
a   mile  long.     I   was  much   interested  in  a 


78  Around  the  World. 

bridge  of  boats  that  we  passed  over.  It  was 
twelve  hundred  feet  long  and  seventy  feet 
wide,  rising  and  falling  with  the  tide  sixteen 
feet.  I  have  seen  several  bridges  made  of 
boats  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  but 
none  so  large  and  substantial  as  this. 

We  went  in  the  afternoon  to  the  great 
fort,  and  inspected  the  immense  fortifications, 
with  their  great  guns  and  piles  of  balls.  A 
marriage  had  just  taken  place  in  the  garrison 
church,  and  the  party  were  out  on  the  lawn 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  carriages.  The 
brilliant  uniforms  of  the  officers  and  the 
handsomely  dressed  ladies  made  a  fine  show. 
The  church  is  an  exceedingly  beautiful  one, 
with  many  costly  monuments  erected  to 
keep  in  memory  the  glorious  deeds  of  Eng- 
land's heroes,  statesmen,  and  scholars. 

In  the  great  Cathedral  there  were  many 
splendid  monuments,  one  to  the  good  Bishop 
Heber,  a  name  dear  to  the  hearts  of  all 
Christians  for  the  beautiful  hymn  he  wrote, 
"From  Greenland's  Icy  Mountains,"  and 
though  I  have  heard  it  sung  in  many  churches 
all  over  the  world,  it  always  seems  fresh,  in- 
spiring, and  beautiful. 

There  was  a  beautiful  monument  to  Lord 
Elgin,  who  was  Governor-General  of  India, 


Calcutta.  79 

and  before  that,  of  Canada,  in  whose  history 
I  had  a  personal  interest,  having  seen  him  and 
obtained  from  his  hands  a  marriage  license 
at  Montreal  in  1847. 

We  went  to  a  public  building,  in  the  yard 
of  which  was  marked  out  the  size  of  a  prison 
known  as  the  Black  Hole.  It  was  under- 
ground, 18  x2$  feet,  where  the  20th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1756,  one  hundred  and  forty-six  persons 
were  confined,  and  the  next  morning  only 
twenty-three  were  alive.  In  one  of  the 
churches  near  was  a  monument  erected  to 
the  memory  of  Job  Charnock,  a  sailor,  who, 
before  Calcutta  came  into  the  possession  of 
England,  came  ashore  with  a  boat-load  of 
companions  to  see  the  sights.  They  saw  a 
widow  placed  on  a  funeral  pyre  all  ready  to 
ignite  and  burn  her  alive,  which  was  the  cus- 
tom in  those  days.  The  natives  set  fire  to 
the  wood,  which  was  too  much  for  the  gallant 
sailor ;  so  he  rushed  in  and  saved  the  woman, 
and,  it  is  related,  subsequently  married  her, 
and  settled  down  as  a  merchant  in  Calcutta, 
where  he  became  rich. 

Returning  along  the  road  beside  a  park  a 
mile  or  two  long  we  met  many  fine  turn- 
outs, containing  Indian  and  English  nabobs, 
and  among  them  was  a  coach  and   four  with 


8o 


Around  the  World. 


the  widow  and  children  of  the  late  King  of 
Oude,  who  were  taking  an  airing.  The 
ladies  and  children  were  in  very  gay  cos- 
tumes, and  looked  exceedingly  pretty.  The 
show  was  a  very  brilliant  one,  far  suspassing 
any  thing  of  the  kind  to  be  seen  in  any  other 
country. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


DARJEELING. 


Darjeelixg,  India, 

Jan.  4,  1890. 

r  4  P.M.  yesterday  we  left  Cal- 
cutta, passing  through  the 
city,  which  was  everywhere 
decorated  for  Prince  Victor, 
who  will  be  a  king  of  Eng- 
land, if  he  lives,  and  who 
was  to  arrive  at  the  same  hour  we  left. 
We  took  possession  of  the  car  engaged  for 
us,  and  I  noticed  that  the  next  one  was  en- 
gaged by  two  Indian  princes,  their  names 
being  on  the  car.  Presently  they  appeared, 
handsomely  dressed  in  long  colored  robes  and 
turbans,  and  soon  after  there  arrived  two 
palanquins  carried  by  coolies,  and  completely 
shut  up,  containing  their  wives.  They  held 
up  a  carpet  screen  to  prevent  outsiders  from 
getting  a  look  at  the  women,  but  I  caught 
sight  of  two  figures,  completely  covered  from 
head   to   foot  with  white  garments,  getting 

81 


82  Around  the  World. 

out  of  the  palanquin  into  the  car.  The  car- 
blinds  were  instantly  drawn  down.  I  was 
much  interested,  it  being  my  first  look  at 
Mohammedan  women. 

After  a  tolerable  night's  sleep  in  the  car  we 
crossed  the  Ganges  on  a  ferry-boat,  and  then 
took  a  narrow-gauge,  two-feet-wide  railroad, 
called  the  Darjeeling  and  Himalaya,  which  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  feats  of  engi- 
neering skill  in  the  world.  It  is  run  mainly 
on  a  cart-road  previously  built,  and  cost  only 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  per  mile,  and  is  fifty 
miles  long. 

We  passed  through  a  flat  country  for  some 
miles,  and  then  commenced  to  go  up,  around, 
through,  and  over  mountains  with  terrible- 
looking  precipices,  now  on  one  hand  and  now 
on  the  other.  It  has  been  a  bright  and 
splendid  day,  one  in  a  hundred  they  tell  us. 
We  were  in  an  observation  car,  and  we 
consequently  could  see  every  thing  to  the 
best  advantage.  Elephants  were  at  work  in 
the  fields  on  the  plains,  and  immense  tea 
plantations  lined  the  hills  and  mountains. 

At  4  P.M.  we  reached  our  destination, 
7,400  feet  high  and  looked  upon  the  mighty 
Himalayas,  four  ranges  rising  each  one  above 
the    other,    the    two    highest    covered    with 


Darjeeling.  83 

snow,  and  the  one  most  remote  appearing  to 
be  fifty  miles  off,  one  of  the  peaks  of  which 
is  the  famous  Mount  Everest,  the  highest 
mountain  in  the  world.  The  atmosphere 
was  exceptionally  clear,  and  the  panorama 
spread  before  us  was  magnificent,  and  would 
require  the  poetical  pen  of  Bayard  Taylor  to 
do  it  any  thing  like  justice.  We  were  soon 
in  our  rooms  at  an  excellent  hotel,  which 
had  been  engaged  as  usual.  Mine  had  an 
open  coal-fire  and  a  man  soon  brought  a 
delicious  cup  of  tea  and  some  toast  which 
were  very  welcome.  I  could  hear  the  jackals 
crying  in  the  near  woods.  The  country  is 
thickly  populated  and  highly  cultivated,  the 
people  bright  and  smart  but  clothed  in  rags 
and  looking  very  poor,  beggars  being  every- 
where. Darjeeling  is  the  sanitarium  of  Bengal. 
There  are  several  hotels,  and  numerous  fine 
dwellings  scattered  along  on  the  mountain 
sides,  and  far  up  there  are  large  barracks  and 
hospitals  for  soldiers.  We  remained  two 
days,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  second 
day  Mr.  Kolish,  Mr.  Jackson,  and  I  became 
ambitious  to  see  Mount  Everest  from  a 
nearer  point  of  view  and  in  all  its  glory,  so 
we  were  called  at  5  A.M.  On  getting  out  I 
found  my  two  friends  mounted,  but  the  ugly 


84  Around  the  World, 

beast  waiting  for  me  did  not  approve  of  the 
excursion,  and  first  tried  to  kick  me,  and 
then  to  bite,  but  I  finally  mounted  and  suc- 
ceeded in  making  him  understand  that  he 
had  better  mind  me.  Away  we  went,  up 
the  steep  but  excellent  roads  for  an  eight- 
mile  trip  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  mountains. 
My  horse  proved  a  good  roadster,  sometimes 
trotting  and  then  galloping,  and  in  one  and 
a  half  hours  we  reached  our  destination,  and 
looked  upon  a  great  range  of  snow-covered 
mountains;  Everest,  the  monarch  of  all,  was 
among  them,  but  much  to  our  disappoint- 
ment, clouds  settled  about  the  tops  of  the 
range  and  we  did  not  see  the  greatest  moun- 
tain in  the  world. 

We  stopped  there  an  hour  or  so  and  took 
our  fill  of  the  grand  sight,  and  then  rode  down 
the  mountain  at  the  same  fast  pace  we  had 
come  up,  for  the  train  left  at  ten  and  we  had 
none  too  much  time.  On  our  way  down  we 
met  a  Chinese  marriage  procession.  They 
were  making  an  awful  din  with  tomtoms 
and  drums,  and  a  great  show  with  banners 
and  flags,  which  scared  my  horse,  but  the 
good-natured  Chinese  stopped  their  noise 
and  we  galloped  on,  reaching  the  hotel  at 
nine,  having  enjoyed  a  fine  morning  ride. 


CHAPTER   XVIIT. 


BENARES. 


Benares,  India,  Jan.  12,  1890. 

N  the  evening  of  the  10th  we 
left  Calcutta,  travelled  all 
night,  and  reached  here  at 
1.30  P.M.  yesterday.  The 
railroads  in  India  are  mostly 
six-feet  gauge,  substantially 
built,  but  very  slow,  twenty-five  miles  an 
hour  being  the  usual  speed. 

We  brought  along  our  own  bedding,  and 
stopped  at  stations  for  meals,  every  thing 
being  very  primitive  compared  with  accom- 
modations found  in  America  or  Europe. 
We  passed  through  a  country  thickly  popu- 
lated, the  fields  being  highly  cultivated,  and 
planted  with  wheat,  rice,  cocoa-nuts,  etc. 
Parrots  were  flying  about  in  flocks,  or 
perched  on  the  telegraph  wires.  Elephants 
could  be  seen  in  the  fields,  and  bullocks 
were  everywhere  drawing  carts  or  ploughing. 
The   two  days  we  have  been  here  have 

85 


86  Around  the  World. 

been  very  active  ones,  seeing  the  wonders 
of  this  "  Holy  City."  Yesterday  morning, 
at  seven  o'clock,  we  went  out  on  the  Ganges 
in  a  big  boat.  Splendid  palaces  were  along 
the  shore  for  a  mile  or  two,  and  thousands 
of  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  India  and  be- 
yond were  bathing  and  praying.  At  length 
we  came  to  the  cremation  places.  The  boat 
stopped  within  fifty  feet  of  the  shore,  and 
we  saw  the  bodies  of  four  dead  persons  in 
different  stages  of  the  process  of  cremation  : 
one  where  the  ashes  were  being  swept  into 
the  river,  and  another  just  being  brought 
down  ;  this  one  was  covered  with  a  red  cloth, 
showing,  as  they  said,  that  it  was  a  female. 
The  men  who  carried  the  body  first  dipped 
it  into  the  water,  and  then  placed  it  on  a 
pile  of  wood  and  brush,  and  set  fire  to  it. 
Each  of  the  other  two  piles  of  wood  had  a 
body  on  it,  and  both  were  being  burned. 

Passing  through  the  city  to  Clark's  Hotel, 
where  we  were  stopping,  we  had  plenty  of 
evidence  that  Benares  sustained  its  reputa- 
tion of  being  the  most  filthy  city  in  India. 
The  Hindoo  temples  were  especially  dirty, 
though  some  of  them  had  gilded  domes,  and 
one,  where  there  was  a  sacred  cow,  was  the 
most  filthy  of  them  all. 


Benares.  8  7 

A  Vienna  friend  asked  me  if  I  would  not 
like  to  call  on  the  Maharajah  of  Benares,  he 
being  the  ruler  of  the  province,  and  behind 
his  throne  being  the  Governor-General  of 
India.  I  said  yes,  and  we  sent  our  cards  to 
the  palace  and  asked  an  interview.  An  offi- 
cer called,  I  suppose  to  look  us  over,  and 
after  asking  some  questions  said  that  His 
Highness  would  be  pleased  to  see  us  at  one 
o'clock,  and  at  that  hour  the  same  officer 
called  again,  and  we  went  to  the  palace  in  a 
carriage,  and  were  at  once  shown  up  to  the 
second  story,  where  we  were  met  at  the  door 
by  the  Maharajah,  a  young  man  thirty  years 
old  and  very  fine-looking.  He  spoke  Eng- 
lish, and  shook  hands  and  welcomed  us  very 
politely.  He  was  dressed  in  brown  velvet 
breeches,  coat  of  yellow  silk  covered  with 
silver  stars,  cap  of  the  same,  and  gold- 
embroidered  shoes ;  and  was  smoking  an 
immense  pipe  with  a  stem  twenty  feet  long. 
He  led  the  way  to  an  interior  hall,  splen- 
didly furnished  in  Oriental  style,  and  showed 
us  to  a  seat.  We  had  a  conversation  of 
about  half  an  hour,  during  which  I  took 
occasion  to  tell  him  something  of  our 
country,  and  invited  him  to  come  to  New 
York.    He  said  he  would  be  very  glad  to  see 


88  Around  the  World. 

America,  and  thanking  us  for  calling  said  he 
was  sorry  we  could  not  stay  some  time  in 
his  dominions.  He  then  shook  hands  and 
said  good-bye,  directing  an  officer  to  send 
us  books  about  his  province.  Nothing  could 
have  been  more  polite  and  kind  than  his 
attentions  to  us.  I  think  it  proper  to  say 
that  my  republican  pulse  did  not  beat  any 
quicker  on  seeing  such  a  magnificent  palace 
and  potentate,  though  I  never  saw  the  like 
or  read  of  such  scenes  except  in  the  "  Ara- 
bian Knights." 

In  the  afternoon  the  party  took  another 
drive  around  the  city,  and  while  the  others 
were  examining  an  extensive  embroidery 
factory,  I  sat  in  the  carriage  in  the  market- 
place, and  was  much  entertained  by  various 
aspects  of  Oriental  life. 

Once  a  little  prince  came  along,  mounted 
on  a  splendid  horse,  led  by  a  man  dressed  in 
red  robes  and  with  a  red  turban  on  his 
head.  The  little  lad  was  dressed  in  robes 
embroidered  with  gold,  and  altogether  the 
scene  was  one  not  to  be  witnessed  anywhere 
except  in  this  country,  or  at  the  theatre. 

We  drove  to  an  ancient  city  some  distance 
off,  and  saw  several  old  palaces  ;  passed 
through  great  groves  of   mango  trees  and 


B, 


enares. 


89 


plantations  of  beans,  peas,  wheat,  rice,  etc. 
Natives,  beggars,  and  children  in  great  num- 
bers crowded  around  our  carriages.  We 
met  a  regiment  of  native  cavalry  with  white 
officers  and  a  fine  band  of  native  musicians. 


&*** 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


LUCKNOW. 


Lucknow,  January  13,  1890. 

IE  arrived  here  at  twelve  last 
night,  after  a  tedious  ride  by 
rail,  and  I  was  up  at  seven 
this  morning,  and  have  been 
all  day  seeing  the  wonders  of 
the  city, 
a  visit  to  the  field  on  which  the 
battle  of  Waterloo  was  fought,  I  have  never 
spent  a  day  of  such  absorbing  interest  as 
this,  for  here  Lawrence,  with  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  men,  held  the  fort  against 
fifty  thousand  rebels  for  six  months,  and  up 
the  road  we  saw  came  Sir  Colin  Campbell 
and  Havelock's  army  of  relief.  The  build- 
ings are  riddled  with  balls,  and  we  saw 
where  Lawrence  fell  and  the  room  where  he 
died,  July  4,  1857.  Nothing  could  be  more 
thrilling  than  to  hear  many  incidents  of  the 
siege  related  in  an  admirable  manner  by  a 
native  guide. 

90 


Lucknow.  9 1 

We  spent  some  hours  in  wandering  about 
the  building  and  ground  held  by  the  Eng- 
lish, and  especially  examined  the  big  can- 
nons, in  front  of  which  five  hundred  rebels 
were  blown  away  and  killed. 

We  went  to  a  fine  Mohammedan  mosque, 
one  of  the  minarets  of  which  was  covered 
with  gold,  and  would  make  an  architectural 
sensation  if  placed  in  any  city  in  Europe  or 
America. 

In  the  afternoon  we  took  another  ride  and 
saw  a  walled  enclosure  of  twenty  acres  or  so, 
where  Havelock  and  his  Highlanders  made 
a  breach  in  the  high  wall,  shot  two  thousand 
rebels  in  four  hours,  and  buried  them  on  the 
spot. 

We  stopped  at  various  mosques  and  pub- 
lic buildings,  and  reached  the  hotel  at  5  P.M. 

It  is  a  fearfully  dirty  place,  and  the  sun  of 
India,  here  as  elsewhere,  is  intensely  hot,  but 
the  evenings  are  quite  cool.  I  saw  many 
elephants  and  camels  in  the  streets  to-day, 
though  horses  and  bullocks  are  generally 
used,  and  fine  carriages  drawn  by  horses  are 
a  common  sight. 

We  have  seen  Lucknow  pretty  thoroughly, 
though  one  might  spend  a  week  here  to  ad- 
vantage, especially  in  visiting  the   museum, 


92 


Around  the  World. 


where  there  are  ancient  and  modern  curiosi- 
ties of  the  highest  interest,  and  the  mosques, 
which  are  exceedingly  beautiful,  in  great 
contrast  to  the  filthy  Hindoo  temples.  One 
especially  reminded  me  of  St.  Mark's  at 
Venice. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


CAWNPORE. 


Cawnpore,  January  14,  1890. 

T  ten  this  morning  we  arrived 
here,  and  have  seen  all  the 
places  where  such  frightful 
massacres  took  place  dur- 
ing the  Sepoy  rebellion  of 
1857.  Mr.  Lee,  who  now 
keeps  a  hotel  here,  acted  as  our  guide,  and 
pointed  out  the  various  localities.  He  was 
a  non-commissioned  officer,  and  accompanied 
General  Havelock's  army,  which  arrived  two 
days  after  the  massacre,  and  inflicted  upon 
the  rebels  the  terrible  retribution  of  fastening 
several  hundred  of  them  in  front  of  the  big 
cannon  and  blowing  them  into  pieces. 

Mr.  Lee  pointed  out  the  exact  spot  where 
these  executions  took  place,  and  showed  how 
the  poor  wretches  were  fastened  to  the 
mouths  of  the  cannon.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  General  Wheeler,  commanding 
the  British  troops,  after  defending  the  fort 
for  weeks  against  a  great  army  of  rebels,  was 

93 


94  Around  the  World, 

induced  to  surrender  under  promise  of  pro- 
tection from  Nana  Sahib,  who  collected  the 
prisoners  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges  and 
had  them  massacred.  Only  four  escaped. 
General  Wheeler  was  seventy-two  years  of 
age,  married  to  a  native  woman,  and  had  by 
her  seven  children.  He  believed  that  Nana 
Sahib  would  keep  faith  with  him,  but  he  and 
all  his  officers  were  collected  on  some  steps 
leading  down  to  the  water  of  the  Ganges, 
and  at  a  signal  from  Nana  they  were  all  shot 
down  and  killed.  One  of  General  Wheeler's 
daughters  committed  suicide  by  jumping 
into  a  well,  and  another  married  a  native  and 
is  now  alive  here. 

When  the  rebellion  was  conquered  Nana 
Sahib  could  not  be  found,  but  Mr.  Henry 
Balantine,  now  U.  S.  Consul  at  Bombay, 
states  that  the  monster  escaped  to  one  of  the 
countries  in  the  north  part  of  India  and  died 
there  of  cholera.  Murphy,  one  of  the  men 
who  escaped  in  a  boat,  had  a  singular  fate. 
After  the  rebellion  he  was  made  custodian 
of  the  public  buildings  here  ;  but  one  day  he 
killed  a  native  and  was  obliged  to  leave  for 
China,  and  has  never  been  heard  of  since. 

Like  many  other  places  in  India,  Cawnpore 
is  fearfully  dusty,  the  hotel  very  poor,  and 
one  is  glad  to  get  away. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


AGRA. 


Agra,  January  17,  1890. 
I 

IE  left  Cawnpore  at  five  o'clock 
■  on  the  morning  of  the  15th. 
The  train  was  delayed,  and 
I  wandered  about  the  chilly 
depot  and  caught  a  bad  cold. 
We  were  several  hours  on  the 
train  looking  out  upon  the  Oriental  scenery, 
the  people,  and  the  wild  and  domestic  ani- 
mals near  by,  and  at  a  distance  we  saw  ele- 
phants, camels,  droves  of  small  donkeys,  big 
black  goats,  and  long-legged  pigs,  flocks  of 
paroquets  and  green  parrots,  now  and  then 
a  deer  or  antelope,  and  the  usual  remarkable 
trees  and  flowers. 

I  arrived  here  well  fagged  out,  but  a  good 
night's  rest  made  me  all  right  again,  and  I 
have  put  in  two  days  of  hard  work,  which  I 
regard  as  among  the  most  remarkable  of  my 
life. 


95 


96  Around  the  World, 

We  saw  many  magnificent  palaces  and 
mosques,  the  description  of  which  would 
alone  fill  a  large  book,  and  I  have  space  only 
to  refer  to  the  Taj-Mahal,  which  has  been 
regarded  by  all  who  have  seen  it  for  the  last 
two  hundred  years  as  the  most  remarkable 
building  of  its  kind  ever  erected,  and  one  of 
the  wonders  of  the  world. 

Built  by  the  Emperor  Shah  Jahan  as  a 
tomb  for  his  wife,  it  is  of  pure  white  marble, 
186  feet  square,  the  centre  dome  being  50 
feet  in  diameter  by  80  feet  high. 

At  the  four  corners  stand  four  towers,  each 
137  feet  high.  The  architect  came  from 
Venice,  and  his  name  was  Geronimo  Verrone. 

On  the  front  gateway  is  the  date,  1648, 
marking  the  completion  of  the  building, 
which  was  twenty  years  building,  and  cost 
ten  millions  of  dollars,  nothing  being  paid  to 
the  twenty  thousand  workmen,  who  were 
said  to  have  been  employed  in  its  construc- 
tion, except  an  allowance  of  corn  daily,  and 
even  this  was  carefully  curtailed  by  rapacious 
officers,  causing  frightful  mortality  among 
the  men.  Jewellers  were  brought  from  Italy, 
and  they  inserted  in  the  marble  walls,  both 
inside  and  out,  in  the  shape  of  vases  and 
flowers,    diamonds,    rubies,    sapphires,    and 


The   Taj -Mahal.  gj 

other  precious  stones.  The  more  valuable 
ones  were  stolen,  but  since  the  English  have 
had  possession  they  have  inserted  artificial 
ones,  and  we  could  see  what  a  magnificent 
show  it  must  have  been. 

The  remains  of  the  emperor  were  placed  in 
a  tomb  by  the  side  of  those  of  his  beloved 
wife.  Each  tomb  had  precious  stones  in- 
serted in  the  marble,  and  on  the  top  of  one 
I  saw  a  place  where  a  ruby  two  inches  in 
diameter  was  said  to  have  been  taken  out. 
Ordinary  stones,  such  as  the  cornelian  and 
amethyst,  were  still  there.  We  lingered 
about  the  beautiful  building  for  many  hours, 
admiring  it  from  every  point  of  view.  My 
friend,  Mr.  Jackson,  sang  a  little  song  under 
the  great  dome,  which  echoed  and  re-echoed, 
producing  a  remarkable  effect. 

I  have  been  so  much  impressed  with  the 
marvellous  beauty  of  the  Taj  that  I  have 
purchased  an  alabaster  model  of  it,  and  hav- 
ing packed  it  carefully  hope  to  get  it  home 
safely.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river 
from  the  Taj  we  were  shown  the  foundation 
of  a  building  which  the  emperor  intended  to 
erect  for  his  own  tomb,  and  to  connect  the 
two  by  a  bridge  of  solid  silver  twelve  hundred 
feet  long,  but  the  tale  they  told  us  was  that 


98  Around  the  World, 

the  emperor's  son  shut  his  father  up  in  a 
prison  palace  for  several  years,  and  there  he 
died  at  ninety-four  years  of  age. 

The  emperor,  knowing  that  he  was  about 
to  die,  asked  to  be  taken  to  a  marble  sum- 
mer-house, from  which  he  could  see  the  Taj. 
They  carried  him  there,  and  on  the  spot  where 
we  stood  he  took  a  last  look  at  the  beauti- 
ful building,  and  died.  I  know  no  more 
touching  tale  in  all  history,  and  it  being  well 
told  on  the  spot  by  one  of  the  guides,  was 
very  impressive. 

This  city,  like  most  others  we  have  seen  in 
India,  is  very  dirty,  and  we  are  put  to  many 
trials  and  discomforts,  especially  in  eating, 
for  we  cannot  get  what  we  want,  the  hotels 
being  very  indifferent  from  an  American 
point   of  view. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

DELHI. 

Delhi,  January  21,  1890. 

ESTERDAY  at  noon  we  left 
Agra,  passing  over  the  river  by 
a  fine  iron  bridge,  from  which 
we  had  another  view  of  the 
beautiful  Taj,  which  was  lovely 
beyond  expression.  We  had 
an  English  compartment  car  to  ourselves, 
and  were  very  comfortable.  Highly  culti- 
vated fields  and  frequent  great  barren  plains, 
with  now  and  then  an  elephant,  were  to  be 
seen,  and  once  a  long  caravan  of  camels. 
Monkeys  were  in  the  woods,  and  flocks  of 
parrots  flying  about,  and  often  the  beautiful 
peacocks  were  perched  on  the  fences  or  wan- 
dering about  the  fields. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Hindoos 
consider  all  animal  and  bird  life  sacred,  and 
never  kill  them,  and  consequently  we  see 
them  everywhere. 

We  passed  on  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty 

99 


ioo  Around  the  World. 

miles  an  hour,  having  forty-three  carriages 
and  over  a  thousand  passengers,  mostly  na- 
tives, and  stopped  at  a  station  at  I  P.M.  for 
lunch.  The  stations  in  India  are  all  large, 
this  one  being  more  than  a  thousand  feet 
long,  and  there  were  collected  in  it  more  than 
a  thousand  pilgrims  bound  for  the  sacred 
Ganges  with  their  bags  and  bedding. 

I  went  among  them  accompanied  by  the 
native  guide,  and  saw  that  many  of  them 
carried  painted  poles,  from  the  top  of  each  of 
which  was  suspended  a  bag  containing  the 
ashes  and  bones  of  some  relative,  which  they 
had  brought  from  their  far-off  homes,  and 
were  taking  to  the  Ganges  to  be  thrown  into 
the  (to  them)  sacred  river. 

I  looked  at  a  group  of  handsomely  dressed 
women.  Among  them  was  a  bride,  who 
had  a  profusion  of  silver  ornaments  in  her 
nose  and  ears,  and  on  her  arms  and  toes. 
My  appearance  among  this  party  seemed  to 
entertain  them  very  much,  judging  by  their 
looks  and  their  chattering. 

We  passed  through  great  fields  of  the 
castor-oil  plant,  cotton,  and  mustard,  and 
at  9  P.M.  rolled  into  the  big  station  here, 
and  were  soon  at  the  hotel  enjoying  the 
comforts  of  a  wood  fire. 


Delhi.  101 

This  is  the  most  dreadful  climate  I  know 
of — eighty  degrees  to  ninety  degrees  during 
the  day,  and  down  to  sixty  degrees  at  night. 
The  hotels  have  rooms  only  on  the  ground- 
floor,  which  is  paved  with  stone,  and  any 
thing  but  comfortable. 

This  city  has  great  historic  interest,  having 
been  ravaged  many  times  by  conquerors,  be- 
ginning with  Tamerlane,  who  burned  it,  and 
killed  a  hundred  thousand  of  its  inhabitants, 
men,  women,  and  children. 

Taking  a  drive,  I  saw  monkeys  running 
along  the  walls,  and  was  everywhere  beset 
by  a  great  lot  of  beggars,  dancing  girls,  and 
merchants  wanting  to  sell  shawls,  jewelry, 
and  many  other  articles. 

We  have  been  here  several  days,  con- 
stantly driving  about  and  seeing  magnifi- 
cent palaces,  tombs,  and  mosques.  In  one 
of  the  great  marble  palaces  was  a  large  hall 
in  which  was  erected  the  famous  Peacock 
Throne  in  the  year  1638. 

The  following  account  of  it  is  given  by 
Tavernier,  who,  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
travelled  extensively  in  the  East,  and  saw 
all  the  wonders  that  he  relates  : 

"  The  largest  throne,  which  is  set  up  in  the 
hall  of  the  first  court,  is  in  form  like  one  of 


102  Around  the  World. 

our  field-beds,  six  feet  long  and  four  broad. 
The  cushion  at  the  back  is  round  like  a 
bolster;  the  cushions  on  the  sides  are  flat. 
I  counted  about  a  hundred  and  eight  pale 
rubies  in  collets  about  this  throne,  the  least 
whereof  weighed  a  hundred  carats ;  but 
there  are  some  that  weigh  two  hundred. 
Emeralds  I  counted  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty,  that  weighed  threescore,  some  thirty, 
carats.  The  under  part  of  the  canopy  is  all 
embroidered  with  pearls  and  diamonds,  with 
a  fringe  of  pearls  round  about.  Upon  the 
top  of  the  canopy,  which  is  made  like  an 
arch  with  four  panes,  stands  a  peacock  with 
his  tail  spread,  consisting  all  of  sapphires 
and  other  proper  colored  stones  ;  the  body 
is  of  beaten  gold  enchased  with  several  jew- 
els, and  a  great  ruby  upon  his  breast  at 
which  hangs  a  pearl  that  weighs  fifty  carats. 
On  each  side  of  the  peacock  stand  two 
nosegays  as  high  as  the  bird,  consisting  of 
several  sorts  of  flowers,  all  of  beaten  gold 
enamelled.  When  the  king  seats  himself 
upon  the  throne  there  is  a  transparent  jewel 
with  a  diamond  appendant,  of  eighty  or 
ninety  carats,  encompassed  with  rubies  and 
emeralds,  so  hung  that  it  is  always  in  his 
eye.     The  twelve  pillars   also    that    uphold 


The  Peacock  Throne.  103 

the  canopy  are  set  with  rows  of  fair  pearl, 
round  and  of  an  excellent  water,  that  weigh 
from  six  to  ten  carats  apiece.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  four  feet,  upon  each  side  of  the 
throne,  are  placed  two  parasols  or  umbrellas, 
the  handles  whereof  are  about  eight  feet 
high,  covered  with  diamonds  ;  the  parasols 
themselves  are  of  crimson  velvet,  embroid- 
ered and  stringed  with  pearls. 

"  This  is  the  famous  throne  which  Tamer- 
lane began  and  Shah  Jahan  finished,  which 
is  really  reported  to  have  cost  a  hundred 
and  sixty  million  five  hundred  thousand 
livres  of  our  money  [thirty-two  million  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars]." 

The  famous  and  beautiful  Cashmere  shawls 
are  made  in  the  province  north  of  here,  and 
are  mostly  sold  in  this  city,  where  there  are 
many  storehouses  filled  with  them.  It  is  said 
that  it  takes  the  labor  of  two  men  a  year  to 
make  one  of  these  shawls  of  moderate  size. 

Wishing  to  purchase,  I  went  to  one  of  the 
largest  establishments  accompanied  by  three 
friends.  The  merchant  showed  me  a  book 
in  which  were  written  recommendations  of 
his  goods  by  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  and  Col. 
Fred.  Grant,  and  among  them  was  one  writ- 
ten in  German,  which  was  translated  by  my 


104  Around  the  World. 

friend  from  Vienna  as  follows :  "  I  have 
bought  shawls  of  this  man,  and  think  I  got 
them  cheap,  but  do  not  offer  him  a  third 
of  what  he  asks."  We  spent  much  time 
looking  at  a  great  variety  of  the  shawls,  and 
finally,  aided  by  the  excellent  taste  of  my 
friends,  Mr.  Norris  of  Baltimore,  Mr.  Kolish 
of  Vienna,  and  Mr.  Jackson  of  Manchester,  I 
selected  two,  which  I  thought  very  beauti- 
ful, and  asked  the  price.  The  merchant 
consulted  two  or  three  of  his  sharp,  bright- 
eyed  clerks  in  their  own  language  and  said  : 
"  I  have  not  sold  a  shawl  to  your  party  ;  I 
sell  you  very,  very  cheap  ;  you  may  have 
those  beautiful  shawls  for  1,400  rupees." 
Having  in  mind  the  German  gentleman's 
remarks,  I  said,  "  No;  the  price  is  absurd; 
let  us  go,"  and  we  started  out.  Then  the 
merchant  followed  saying,  "  Don't  go  ;  make 
me  an  offer,"  and  I  said,  "  I  will  give  you 
400  rupees  for  both  shawls."  Greatly  to  my 
astonishment  he  replied,  "  Take  them  ;  I  will 
send  to  your  hotel."  Fearing  a  substitution 
or  some  other  trick  I  said  :  "  No  ;  hand  them 
to  me,  if  you  please.  Here  are  100  rupees, 
and  you  may  come  to  the  hotel  and  get 
the  balance."  To  this  he  agreed  and  the 
purchase  was  made. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

JEYPORE. 

Jeypore,  January  25,  1890. 

'UR  party  arrived  here  on  the 
23d  instant, and  permission  was 
obtained  from  the  Rajah,  who 
has  the  reputation  of  being  the 
most  enlightened  ruler  in  In- 
dia, to  visit  his  palaces  and 
grounds;  and  very  magnificent  we  found  them. 
The  palace  was  very  large,  and  fitted  up  in  a 
costly  manner.  We  were  admitted  every- 
where, except  to  a  big  building  occupied 
by  his  three  hundred  wives.  We  then 
went  to  see  fifty  elephants  in  different 
places,  each  tied  by  the  legs  ;  and  then  we 
visited  the  tiger  cages,  a  dozen  of  them, 
each  containing  a  savage  fellow.  We  then 
went  to  the  stables  and  saw  four  hundred 
blooded  horses  from  all  parts  of  the  world# 
The  custodian  in  charge  of  the  stable  said 
that  if  I  wanted  to  hunt  tigers  the  Rajah 
would  be  pleased  to  loan  me  a  horse,  and  I 

105 


io6  Around  the  World, 

would  be  sure  to  find  a  tiger  from  two  to  six 
miles  from  the  city  wall.  The  Rajah  was 
good  enough  to  loan  us  four  of  his  biggest 
elephants,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  sent 
them  outside  the  city  wall  with  a  photogra- 
pher. We  followed  in  a  carriage  and  had 
photographs  taken,  and  afterwards  mounted 
the  elephants,  four  on  each,  and  rode  two 
miles  farther  to  a  country  palace  of  the 
Rajah,  and  to  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  city, 
where  were  formerly  great  castles,  reminding 
one  of  Germany  and  the  Rhine.  We  spent 
an  hour  looking  over  the  castle,  which  is 
very  costly  and  splendid.  On  the  road  and 
around  the  palace  we  were  amused  by  the 
antics  of  numerous  monkeys  and  the  beauty 
of  flocks  of  peacocks  running  wild  all  over, 
the  screaming  of  parrots,  etc.  We  then 
mounted  our  elephants  to  return.  The  one 
I  was  on  looked  as  large  as  Jumbo.  Mean- 
while my  friend,  Mr.  Jackson  of  Manches- 
ter, who  is  a  great  walker  and  dislikes  the 
motion  of  the  elephant,  had  ten  minutes 
before  started  to  walk  to  the  carriages,  a 
distance  of  two  miles.  He  had  nearly 
reached  them,  when  he  met  a  lady  and  gen- 
tleman, who  proved  to  be  an  English  doctor 
and  his  wife.     They  bowed  and  said  "  Good- 


< 


O 


UJ 

> 
< 


A  Tiger.  107 

day,"  but  had  not  passed  on  ten  paces 
before  they  came  running  back.  The  doctor 
took  hold  of  Jackson  and  said,  "  Look  on 
top  of  the  wall !  "  (a  stone  wall  laid  in 
cement  five  feet  high).  "  And  so  you  went 
within  two  yards  of  yonder  tiger !  '  Jack- 
son looked  and  saw  the  big  head  and  paws 
of  a  large  tiger  resting  on  top  of  the  wall, 
and  then  he  ran  away  toward  the  carriages. 
Meanwhile,  Mr.  Kolish,  who  was  on  the 
elephant  ahead,  had  seen  the  tiger  in  the 
field,  and  shouted  to  me  to  look  at  him,  but 
he  went  away  very  quickly,  and  I  saw  noth- 
ing but  a  movement  in  the  brush.  All  this 
took  place  before  we  knew  Mr.  Jackson  had 
seen  the  beast.  There  were  six  natives  with 
each  elephant,  and  they  were  much  excited 
and  said  the  tiger  must  be  very  hungry,  as 
one  seldom  came  so  near  the  city,  and  he 
would  most  likely  get  a  kid  or  a  man  before 
morning. 

I  have  been  more  interested  in  this  city, 
where  I  have  seen  only  native  faces,  than  in 
any  other  in  India,  and  would  be  glad  to 
spend  some  weeks  here. 

The  main  avenues  are  one  hundred  feet 
wide,  lighted  by  gas,  and  having  water  sup- 
plied by  pumping  works.     They  are  lined 


108  Around  the  World. 

with  beautiful  public  and  private  buildings, 
and  crowded  with  traffic,  numerous  caravans 
of  camels  coming  and  going  loaded  with 
stone,  cotton  bales,  and  all  kinds  of  goods. 

This  morning  we  went  to  the  Museum,  a 
large  and  splendid  edifice  erected  by  the 
present  Rajah.  As  an  architectural  triumph 
I  know  of  nothing  superior  anywhere.  It 
is  of  white  and  colored  marble  from  base  to 
dome ;  and  the  contents  no  adjectives  can 
describe.  Lovely!  charming!  splendid! 
Costly  goods  from  Oriental  countries,  owned 
and  arranged  by  the  Rajah  Mahara  Swai 
Madhosingh. 

Over  the  arched  entrance  to  the  exhibi- 
tion rooms  sentences  were  painted,  taken 
from  native  books  ;   for  instance  : 

"  How  much  soever  one  may  study  science, 
If  you  do  not  act  right,  you  are  ignorant." 

"  By  contentment  make  me  rich, 

For  without  that  there  is  no  wealth." 

"  Rectitude  is  the  means  of  pleasing  God: 
I  never  saw  any  one  lost  on  a  straight  road." 

We  are  comfortably  lodged  in  a  hotel 
called  a  bungalow,  which  is  owned  by  the 
Rajah  and  conducted   by  a  native.     I  was 


The  Hotel  at  Jeypore.  1 09 

amused  at  one  of  the  printed  notices  in  the 
dining-room,  which  was :  "  If  visitors  are  not 
satisfied  with  the  food  or  cooking,  they  can 
deduct  from  the  bill  what  they  consider  fair  "  ; 
an  excellent  notice,  which  I  recommend  for 
adoption  by  hotels  elsewhere.  In  another 
hotel  I  saw  the  following :  "  Guests  are  re- 
quested not  to  strike  the  servants " ;  and 
"  Guests  wishing  ice  are  requested  to  give 
a  day's  notice,  and  name  how  much  they 
require." 

I  walked  up  the  street  to  look  at  a  hunt- 
ing tiger  with  hoods  over  his  eyes,  and  tied 
to  a  tree,  and  while  leaning  up  against  a 
bungalow  gate,  a  fine-looking  young  Indian, 
mounted  on  a  splendid  Arabian  horse,  inter- 
viewed me,  much  as  an  American  newspaper 
man  would  have  done :  Where  did  I  come 
from  ?  What  was  my  profession  ?  and  What 
was  I  in  Jeypore  for  ? 

I  told  him  something  of  our  country,  the 
number  of  people,  the  miles  of  railroads  and 
telegraph  wires,  the  size  of  New  York  and 
Chicago — in  all  of  which  he  was  much  inter- 
ested. I  then  interviewed  him  and  asked 
him  who  he  was,  and  he  replied  that  he  was 
Colonel  Fyaz,  commander  of  a  regiment  of 
native  troops.     He  could  talk  the  English, 


I  IO 


Around  the  World. 


Hindoo,  Persian,  and  Oude  languages,  was 
delighted  to  see  an  American,  and  asked  me 
where  I  learned  to  speak  English.  He 
seemed  surprised  to  learn  that  it  was  the 
language  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

After  a  long  conversation  he  asked  for  my 
card  and  invited  me  to  call  at  his  quarters, 
saying  that  he  would  be  glad  to  show  me 
about  the  city. 


mauujutuuuL'.LJtJtJM** 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

BOMBAY. 

Bombay,  January  27,  1890. 

jEAVING  delightful  Jeypore  by 

the  evening  train,  we  were 
two  nights  and  one  day  on 
the  road.  It  was  very  cold 
after  dark,  so  much  so  that  I 
had  to  get  up  in  the  middle  of 
the  night  and  put  on  my  overcoat  and  shoes. 
The  train  went  at  a  speed  of  twenty-five 
miles  an  hour,  stopping  at  stations  for  meals, 
which  were  quite  good,  but  the  native 
waiters  were  of  the  worst,  and  all  the  ar- 
rangements very  primitive  compared  with 
the  splendid  vestibule  trains  running  on  the 
Central  Railroad  from  New  York  to  Chicago. 
We  obtained  accommodations  at  a  first- 
rate  hotel,  where  I  rested  for  a  day,  being 
much  fatigued  by  the  trip  from  Jeypore,  but 
towards  night  I  took  a  walk  along  a  beauti- 
ful boulevard,  and  through  fine  parks  for 
several  miles,  and  was   much   interested  in 

in 


H2  Around  the  World. 

looking  at  the  strange  and  wonderful  scenes. 
The  highly  colored  dresses  of  the  native 
women,  the  silver  ornaments  covering  their 
persons ;  the  immense  public  and  private 
palaces,  very  costly  and  beautiful, — all  made  a 
great  impression  on  me,  and  I  think  that 
Bombay  is  one  of  the  finest  cities  in  the 
world. 

There  are  fifty  thousand  Parsees  in  this 
city,  with  some  of  whom  I  became  ac- 
quainted, and  found  them  to  be  very  intel- 
ligent, and  was  told  that  they  were  very 
successful  merchants,  many  of  them  mil- 
lionaires. They  originally  came  from  Persia, 
where  they  were  agriculturists,  but  here  they 
are  merchants.  These  Parsees  are  all  wor- 
shippers of  the  sun. 

One  day  we  went  to  their  burial-place 
called  the  "  Towers  of  Silence,"  situated  in 
a  handsomely  laid  out  park.  There  were 
three  round  towers  about  one  hundred  feet 
in  diameter  and  fifty  feet  high,  without  any 
tops,  and  around  the  edges  perched  some 
hundreds  of  black  vultures.  We  were  told 
by  the  attendant  that  the  dead  bodies  were 
placed  on  slats  inside  these  towers  and  then 
devoured  by  the  vultures. 

We  saw  the  dreadful  creatures  all  flying 


The  "  Towers  of  Silence '."        1 13 

over  to  one  of  the  towers,  and  discovered 
that  a  body  was  being  carried  there  by  at- 
tendants dressed  in  white.  We  were  not 
permitted  to  go  near  the  towers,  but  were 
shown  by  an  attendant  a  working  model  of 
one  of  them,  and  exactly  how  the  dead 
bodies  were  disposed  of. 

Towards  evening  a  band  played  in  the 
beautiful  park  fronting  the  hotel,  and  I  saw 
sights  probably  not  surpassed  by  any  other 
place  on  earth. 

The  ilite  were  out,  both  native  and  foreign, 
in  full  force,  as  a  public  meeting  was  being 
held  in  a  beautiful  building  erected  by  a 
wealthy  Parsee  merchant,  in  front  of  which 
was  his  marble  statue. 

The  building  is  called  the  Bombay  Uni- 
versity, and  an  officer,  whose  coat  was  cov- 
ered with  decorations,  was  delivering  an 
address  on  higher  education.  Officers  and 
soldiers  mounted  on  fine  horses  patrolled 
the  streets  ;  companies  of  Sepoys  dressed  in 
native  costumes  marched  along  ;  many  white 
children  cared  for  by  native  nurses,  splen- 
didly dressed  native  women,  and  beautiful 
English  ladies  and  children  passed  to  and 
fro  ;  carriages  and  fine  horses  went  by  on  the 
road,  making  a  scene  of  wonderful  beauty 


H4  A  round  the  World. 

and  attraction.  The  city,  with  its  many 
parks,  covers  a  large  space,  and  is  elegant 
and  clean,  containing  more  than  a  million  of 
people,  but,  strange  to  say  of  such  an  im- 
portant commercial  centre,  there  has  been 
no  United  States  consul  here  for  six  months, 
and  I  had  in  consequence  much  trouble  in 
shipping  home  some  boxes. 

I  called  upon  Mr.  Henry  Ballantine,1  who 
had  delivered  a  delightful  lecture  on  Cash- 
mere before  the  Geographical  Society  at 
New  York  last  winter,  and  he  was  good 
enough  to  give  me  such  information  as 
enabled  me  to  get  my  goods  off. 

1  Since  the  above  was  written  Mr.  Ballantine  has  been 
appointed  U.  S.  Consul  to  Bombay. 


m^-  .vlV. 


Hfr0§:  ^ 


L^UUUIUIIftUUfcl 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

ON  BOARD  "THE  KHEDIVE." 

Steamer  "  Khedive,"  Red  Sea,  near  Suez 
^gggM  February  10,  1890. 

7n|iHE  morning  of  the  31st  of  Jan- 

lifii  uary  was  veiT  not  at  Bombay, 
as  usual,  and  I  only  went  out 
to  make  a  few  calls,  and  some 
purchases,  and  at  3  P.M.  we 

lESSEs  .  1   . 

went  on  a  tender  to  this 
steamer,  passing  two  large  English  troop 
ships  just  arrived,  and  several  ironclad  men- 
of-war,  and  looked  at  the  great  forts  on  the 
land  where  we  had  before  seen  two  120-ton 
Armstrong  guns  with  piles  of  conical  balls, 
each  ball  weighing  half  a  ton. 

The  harbor  is  large  and  fine,  and  there 
were  at  anchor  many  large  steamers  and 
sailing  craft,  but  I  did  not  see  anywhere  the 
flag  of  our  country. 

On  Sunday  there  was  the  usual  parade  of 
officers,  sailors,  and  servants,  149  in  all,  most 
of  the  sailors  being  Lascars,  dressed  in  white 
gowns,  red  turbans,  and  sashes,  presenting  a 
clean  and  picturesque  appearance. 

115 


n6  Around  the  World. 

The  vessel  is  a  fine  one,  wonderfully  clean, 
and  with  all  modern  improvements,  including 
electric  lights. 

The  doctor  is  a  young  and  handsome 
man,  and  spends  most  of  his  time  with  the 
young  lady  passengers,  who  seem  to  require 
much  medical  advice.  I  notice  that  on  most 
of  the  ships  where  I  have  been  the  doctors 
are  very  attentive  to  the  ladies. 

One  night  I  slept  very  soundly  in  the 
upper  berth,  but  in  the  morning  found 
my  room  flooded  from  the  open  port-holes, 
sofa,  floor,  and  baggage  wet,  but  no  great 
harm  done,  my  clothing  being  hung  up.  In 
the  morning  I  knew  the  sailors  were  washing 
the  deck,  for  the  water  leaked  through  and 
struck  my  face,  but  one  learns  not  to  mind 
such  little  matters  when  travelling,  and  I 
turned  over  for  another  sleep. 

It  is  rather  hot  on  the  steamer,  thermom- 
eter eighty  degrees,  but  the  punkas  are  going 
in  the  cabin,  and  we  are  all  quite  comfortable. 

We  came  from  Bombay  on  the  steamer 
Assam,  arrived  at  Aden  on  the  6th,  and  were 
transferred  to  this  ship,  and  unfortunately 
there  was  not  time  for  us  to  go  ashore,  but  I 
think  we  lost  nothing,  as  it  was  a  poor-look- 
ing place,  nothing  but  rocks  and  fortifications. 


The  Red  Sea.  1 1  7 

We  now  see  for  the  first  time  the  coast  of 
Arabia,  big  hills  evidently  of  volcanic  forma- 
tion, and  long  reaches  of  white  sand.  The 
native  boats  crowded  around  the  ship,  offer- 
ing ostrich  feathers  and  various  things  for 
sale ;  boys  were  diving  for  silver  pieces 
thrown  into  the  water,  and  generally  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  them. 

The  run  of  four  days  up  the  historic  Red 
Sea  has  been  full  of  interest.  One  day  the 
air  was  full  of  locusts  flying  over  from  Arabia 
to  Africa,  many  of  them  falling  on  the  deck. 
They  looked  like  small  birds  when  flying, 
but  were  not  larger  than  katydids,  and 
brown  in  color. 

On  Sunday  the  service  was  read  by  a 
clergyman  who  preached  an  excellent  ser- 
mon. He  read  from  the  Bible  the  account 
of  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  at  a  place 
not  far  from  where  we  were,  and  the  sermon 
was  about  it  and  Egypt. 

The  seats  at  the  long  tables  in  the  dining- 
room  were  filled,  nearly  all  the  passengers 
being  in  attendance.  The  weather  contin- 
ues perfect,  the  water  smooth  and  looking 
very  blue.  Captain  Loggin,  of  this  ship, 
says  that  on  his  last  trip  he  had  a  lady  pas- 
senger who  was  ninety-one  years  of  age,  and 


1 1 8  Around  the  World, 

on  a  former  trip  another  who  was  ninety- 
two,  both  of  them  very  jolly  and  comforta- 
ble, and  going  from  England  to  visit  their 
relatives  in  India. 

The  captain  said  that  on  another  of  his 
trips,  two  ladies,  strangers  to  each  other, 
were  put  in  one  state-room  in  which  were 
two  wash-basins.  One  basin  being  a  little 
larger  than  the  other,  each  lady  wanted 
the  larger  one,  and  appealed  to  him.  He 
gave  the  matter  due  consideration,  and 
finally  informed  them  that  the  elder  should 
have  it.  As  we  approach  the  upper  end  of 
the  sea  it  narrows  to  about  three  miles,  and 
we  have  good  views  of  both  the  Arabian 
and  the  African  coasts,  long  stretches  of 
sand  on  both  shores,  and  then  mountains  of 
volcanic  origin,  but  not  a  sign  of  a  town  or 
of  any  inhabitants.  Early  one  morning  the 
captain  gave  notice  that  we  were  nearing 
the  Sinai  range  of  mountains,  and  he  showed 
on  his  chart  all  the  points  of  interest,  and 
directly  pointed  out  the  historic  mountain 
itself,  situated  beyond  a  range  which  was 
near  the  sea,  and  looming  up  so  that  we 
could  see  it  with  the  naked  eye,  and  very 
clearly  with  the  glass.  The  mountain  ap- 
peared to  be  about  forty  miles  off. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


THROUGH  THE  SUEZ  CANAL. 


Cairo,  February  12,  1890. 

9  P.M.,  on  the  10th  instant, 
the  big  steamer  Khedive  an- 
chored at  Suez,  the  Red  Sea 
entrance  to  the  canal  ;  and 
I  was  much  interested  in 
watching  the  engineers  mak- 
ing steam  connections  to  a  large  dynamo  on 
deck.  The  connections  were  made  by  cop- 
per pipes  and  flange  joints.  In  half  an  hour 
they  were  ready.  Captain  Loggin  gave  the 
signal,  and  the  stately  vessel  moved  on  at 
the  rate  of  six  miles  an  hour  towards  Port 
Said  on  the  Mediterranean.  The  canal  is 
87  miles  long,  and  when  completed  was  72 
feet  wide  and  26  feet  deep,  but  two  years  ago 
it  was  decided  to  enlarge  it  to  120  feet  wide, 
27  feet  8  inches  deep.  They  are  now  at  work 
on  the  enlargement,  as  I  saw  four  immense 
dredgers  lying  in  the  canal  near  Suez,  and 
was  informed  that  thousands  of  men  could 


119 


120  Around  the  World. 

be  seen  during  the  day  at  work  all  along  the 
route. 

I  stationed  myself  on  the  upper  deck  at 
9.30  P.M.,  and  remained  there  all  night  with 
the  kind  and  pleasant  captain  for  my  only 
companion,  only  leaving  when  we  were 
nearing  Ismailia  at  six  in  the  morning ; 
and  I  was  amply  rewarded  by  sights  such 
as  I  never  expect  to  see  again. 

The  five  thousand  candle-power  electric 
light,  with  a  Mangin  reflector,  spread  the 
rays  out  fanlike,  and  illuminated  the  canal 
and  vicinity  for  half  a  mile  ahead  and  several 
hundred  feet  wide,  so  that  the  smallest 
thing  on  the  land  or  in  the  water  could  be 
seen.  The  electric  rays  illuminated  the 
water  so  that  the  white-painted  buoys,  of 
which  you  could  often  see  three  or  four  at  a 
time,  seemed  to  be  lighted  from  the  inside, 
as  if  made  of  translucent  golden  porcelain, 
and  suspended  in  mid-air.  The  white  sand 
on  the  banks  of  the  canal  might  be  readily 
mistaken  for  snow,  and  was  in  one  place 
piled  up  fifty  feet  high,  for  a  long  distance, 
and  the  general  effect  was  singularly  weird, 
as  the  great  steamer  moved  majestically  on. 
When  we  reached  the  small  Bitter  Water 
Lake,  the  buoys  were  on  stands  fifteen  feet 
high,  out  of  water,  looking  as  if  they  were 


The  Suez  Canal.  121 

made  of  silver,  the  pear-shaped  domes  like 
illuminated  mosques.  Once  where  there 
was  an  opening  in  the  sand-bank,  the  light 
illuminated  a  hill  some  distance  off,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  I  were  looking  upon  a  great 
city,  with  its  mosques,  minarets,  churches, 
and  buildings  all  being  destroyed  by  fire. 
Several  times,  when  approaching  huge 
dredging  machines,  the  electric  light  seemed 
to  transform  them  into  beautiful  flower 
boats  on  which  fairies  might  be  dancing. 
As  we  entered  the  large  Bitter  Lake,  the 
electric  lights  were  put  out  and  the  vessel 
guided  by  a  pilot  increased  her  speed. 

The  tide  rises  seven  feet  at  Suez,  and 
forces  the  water  up  the  canal  to  the  Bitter 
Lakes,  which  operate  like  a  safety  valve, 
distributing  the  water  and  returning  it  when 
the  tide  recedes. 

The  Mediterranean  being  a  tideless  sea, 
the  water  runs  naturally  through  the  canal 
to  the  Bitter  Lakes.  Most  of  the  commerce 
of  the  East  passes  through  the  canal,  instead 
of  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  for- 
merly. In  1887  there  passed  through  the 
canal  3,137  vessels,  of  which  2,330  were  Brit- 
ish, and  only  three  American.  I  know  of  no 
greater  illustration  of  the  fallibility  of  human 
judgment  than  that  the  English  opposed  the 


122  Around  the  World. 

building  of  this  canal.  Lord  Palmerston  said 
it  could  not  be  built,  and  if  done,  would  never 
pay,  or  be  any  good  to  commerce  ;  and  now 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  tonnage  passing 
through  it  is  British,  and  it  is  of  immense 
importance  to  them,  both  politically  and  in 
a  business  way.  But  for  the  persistent  en- 
ergy of  M.  de  Lesseps,  it  is  safe  to  say  the 
canal  would  not  have  been  built  for  many 
years,  if  ever. 

The  average  passages  through  the  canal 
from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Red  Sea  have 
been  eighteen  hours,  Captain  Loggin  having 
made  the  shortest  in  fifteen  hours ;  but  when 
the  enlargement  is  completed,  so  that  ves- 
sels may  make  an  uninterrupted  passage 
each  way,  the  time  may  be  reduced  to 
twelve  hours.  The  stock  of  the  company 
has  paid  as  high  as  twenty-one  per  cent.,  and 
I  was  informed  that  our  steamer,  the 
Khedive,  had  several  hundred  cases  of  silk 
on  board,  and  that  she  would  pay  about 
seven  thousand  dollars  transit  charges. 
Every  steamer  passing  through  the  canal 
now  makes  use  of  the  electric  light ;  those 
not  having  a  dynamo  on  board  hire  one  at 
Port  Said  in  Suez  for  ten  pounds  sterling  per 
trip,  including  two  men  to  run  it. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 


CAIRO  AND  THE  PYRAMIDS. 


Cairo,  February  17,  1890. 

|N  the  13th  at  1  P.M.  we  took 
the  train  at  Ismailia,  had  a 
first-class  carriage  and  agree- 
able company.  For  half  the 
distance  we  passed  through  a 
sandy  desert,  but  when  we 
came  to  the  station  Tel-el-Kebir,  near  which 
Wolseley  routed  the  Egyptian  army,  the 
country  improved,  great  fields  of  sugar-cane, 
lentils,  grain,  and  grass  were  to  be  seen  ; 
men  were  ploughing,  and  others  gathering 
the  crops,  assisted  by  camels,  bullocks,  and 
donkeys.  In  one  instance,  a  camel  was 
harnessed  to  a  bullock  drawing  a  plough. 
The  people  were  everywhere  industrious, 
and  the  fields  looked  in  splendid  condition. 
Very  often  we  saw  large  flocks  of  sheep  and 
goats,  and  soon  we  came  in  sight  of  a  long 
arched  bridge  spanning  the  Nile.  After 
crossing    this  we    entered    a   fine    depot   at 

123 


124  Around  the  World. 

Cairo,  where  there  was  the  usual  clamor  of 
hackmen,  but  our  conductor  rescued  us  from 
these  land  sharks,  and  we  were  soon  at 
the  Royal  Hotel  and  I  found  my  room, 
which  had  been  engaged,  and  directly  a 
package  of  letters  and  papers  were  handed 
to  me,  which  were  very  welcome. 

It  is  as  cool  here  as  March  in  New  York, 
and  I  have  on  my  regular  winter  clothing. 
The  Red  Sea  voyage  and  the  weather  here 
have  toned  me  up,  and  I  feel  in  first-rate 
health.  This  is  one  of  three  fine  hotels  in 
Cairo,  and  is  first  class  in  every  respect — 
French  cooking,  splendid  bread  and  butter, 
and  excellent  beef  and  mutton,  which  have, 
no  doubt,  helped  to  put  me  in  good  condi- 
tion, after  the  horrors  of  our  campaign  of  the 
India  cookery. 

Mr.  Norris  sent  a  telegram  to  Baltimore 
last  evening  at  5.30,  and  had  an  answer  at 
1 1.30  P.M.,  so  that  we  are  all  now  in  touch  of 
home. 

We  have  been  this  afternoon  through  the 
bazaars  to  the  great  Citadel  and  the  grand 
Mosque,  where  I  unfortunately  stumbled 
over  a  prostrate  man  praying,  with  his  face 
towards  Mecca,  and  there  was  a  little  row, 
but  I  apologized  and  passed  on. 


The  Pyramids,  125 

Yesterday  we  started  out  at  nine  and  did 
not  get  back  to  the  hotel  until  four.  We 
went  first  to  the  famous  museum  three  miles 
distant,  over  the  river,  and  saw  an  immense 
collection  of  antiquities,  illustrating  Egyp- 
tian history  for  six  thousand  years,  including 
the  mummies  of  the  great  kings,  Rameses 
I.,  II.,  and  III.,  and  their  wives  and  some  of 
their  children.  Their  remains  are  not  pretty 
to  look  at,  and  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  sacri- 
legious to  expose  them  for  show  in  a  museum 
at  one  franc  admission.  The  museum  build- 
ing is  very  beautiful,  having  been  erected  by 
the  Khedive  for  a  palace,  the  same  Khedive 
who  was  deposed  by  the  English,  and  is  now 
in  exile  in  Italy. 

One  room  had  marble  pillars  three  feet  in 
diameter  and  thirty  feet  high,  and  the  whole 
building  is  fitted  up  in  the  highest  style  of 
modern  French  art. 

We  entered  carriages  and  drove  over  a 
fine  shaded  road  to  the  great  Pyramids, 
where  we  arrived  at  noon.  I  at  once  an- 
nounced my  intention  of  going  to  the  top  of 
the  big  Pyramid,  as  did  also  Mr.  Kolish  of 
Vienna  and  Miss  Roe  of  Cincinnati,  the 
others  of  the  party  declining. 

The  old  Arab  sheik,  who  has  charge  here, 


126  Around  the  World. 

appointed  three  stalwart  Egyptians  to  assist 
me,  and  two  others  followed  with  jugs  of 
water ;  with  one  man  holding  each  hand, 
and  another  to  push,  we  commenced  the 
ascent.  The  stones  were  from  two  to  two 
and  a  half  feet  high,  making  the  tallest  kind 
of  stairs,  but  the  men  were  careful  and  good 
at  pulling  and  pushing,  and  I  made  rapid 
progress. 

They  stopped  twice  to  rest,  and  then  I 
found  what  violent  exertions  I  had  been 
making,  for  I  was  completely  blown,  and  my 
mouth  and  throat  as  dry  as  if  I  had  not  had 
a  drink  for  a  month. 

We  rested  at  each  stopping-place  a  few 
minutes,  and  rinsing  my  mouth  with  water 
refreshed  me ;  then  we  rushed  on,  reaching 
the  top  in  seventeen  minutes.  Such  had 
been  the  violence  of  the  exertion  that  I 
could  hardly  speak  for  fifteen  minutes  after- 
wards. Mr.  Kolish  being  a  stout  young  fel- 
low got  along  first-rate,  and  Miss  Roe  being 
strong,  cool,  and  fearless  came  up  serenely. 
From  the  top  the  view  towards  the  Nile  was 
of  unsurpassed  beauty ;  long  stretches  of 
country  covered  with  green  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  Farther  back  was  a  boundless 
plain,  but  all   sand    and  desolation.      I  in- 


The  Statue  of  Mernnon.         127 

tended  to  recite  here  Napoleon  the  First's 
address,  "  Soldiers  of  the  grand  army,  forty 
centuries  are  looking  down  upon  you,"  but  I 
was  so  much  engaged  getting  my  breath  that 
I  forgot  all  about  it. 

After  stopping  on  top  for  half  an  hour, 
we  commenced  going  down,  one  man  hold- 
ing each  of  my  hands  and  another  holding  a 
rope  which  was  around  under  my  arms.  We 
got  along  very  nicely  with  only  one  stop,  in- 
deed I  think  I  could  have  come  down  per- 
fectly well  without  help  from  any  one. 

There  are  250  steps  on  the  big  Pyramid, 
and  it  is  480  feet  high.  At  one  o'clock  we 
had  a  capital  lunch,  and  then  started  for  the 
Statue  of  Memnon  only  a  third  of  a  mile 
from  the  Pyramids.  Some  camels  were 
kneeling  ready  to  take  us,  and  I  mounted 
one.  The  beast  squealed  and  got  up  first 
on  his  front  legs  and  then  on  his  hind  ones, 
pitching  me  back  and  forth,  but  I  hung  on 
and  got  along  very  nicely. 

The  immense  statue,  partly  covered  with 
sand,  did  not  impress  me  much,  but  a  tomb 
which  I  entered  near  by  was  a  wonder. 
I  measured  one  of  the  big  stones  in  the  wall 
and  found  it  was  five  feet  square  and  seven- 
teen feet  long. 


128  Around  the  World. 

We  mounted  on  camels  again  and  Miss 
Roe  and  I  had  a  race  across  the  yielding 
sand,  the  Cincinnati  young  lady  coming  out 
ahead. 

The  beggars  crowded  around  and  annoyed 
the  ladies  so  much  that  I  spoke  to  the  old 
sheik,  and  he  went  at  them  with  a  whip  and 
scattered  them  very  quickly. 

We  returned  to  Cairo  the  same  way  we 
went,  observing  on  the  road  large  numbers 
of  camels,  bullocks,  and  donkeys,  and  once  I 
counted  seven  camels  loaded  with  fresh  hay. 
Thus  ended  one  of  the  wonder  days  of  my 
life. 

Yesterday  morning  we  left  here  on  a 
steamer,  and  went  up  the  swift-running  wat- 
ers of  the  Nile,  passing  numerous  palaces, 
tombs,  and  all  kinds  of  Oriental  buildings, 
dozens  of  water-wheels  run  by  bullocks,  and 
once  a  steam-pump  and  boiler,  all  raising 
water  for  irrigation. 

We  had  a  stalwart  and  fancy-dressed  dra- 
goman, but  he  was  of  little  use.  We  took 
along  a  nice  lunch  and  picnicked  on  the 
boat,  reaching  the  dock  in  three  hours,  where 
we  found  about  a  hundred  donkeys  and 
their  attendants  yelling,  screaming,  and 
pushing.      After    much     trouble    we    each 


Memphis.  129 

mounted  one  of  the  ugly  beasts,  and  started 
for  the  ancient  city  of  Memphis,  seven  miles 
away.  There  was  a  boy  with  a  stick  to  each 
donkey,  and  every  time  he  struck,  my  beast 
would  kick  and  nearly  unseat  me. 

A  young  lady  from  Boston,  Miss  Potter, 
was  put  in  my  charge,  and  several  times  we 
had  splendid  trots  and  gallops  on  the  sandy 
roads  and  plains. 

We  met  strings  of  camels  and  donkeys  on 
the  way  in  front,  and  our  cavalcade  of  ex- 
cursionists, stretched  along  the  sandy  road, 
presented  a  remarkable  appearance. 

Half-way  we  stopped  to  rest  at  a  place 
where  an  immense  marble  statue  of  a  king 
was  lying  in  the  sand.  It  was  thirty  feet 
long,  and  five  feet  across  the  face. 

The  donkey  ridden  by  Miss  Potter  proved 
so  bad  that  she  changed  him  for  another 
here,  and  we  galloped  over  the  sandy  plain 
unto  Memphis,  our  destination.  There  were 
half  a  dozen  big  pyramids  in  sight,  and  the 
whole  country  was  covered  with  ruins.  We 
were  on  a  high  hill,  and  looked  down  upon 
the  Delta  of  the  Nile  and  its  cultivated 
fields,  a  scene  of  rare  beauty,  on  one  side, 
and  on  the  other,  vast  sandy  plains  and 
deserts. 


130  Around  the  World. 

We  walked  to  the  entrance  of  the  "  Tombs 
of  the  Sacred  Bulls."  The  passage-ways  and 
tombs  are  cut  out  of  solid  rock  and  are  all 
under  ground.  These  passage-ways  are  a 
mile  or  two  long,  and  thirty  feet  in  diameter. 
They  strongly  reminded  me  of  the  sewers  in 
Paris. 

From  these  passages,  were  dug  out  of  solid 
rock  twelve  rooms,  each  containing  the 
statue  of  a  "  Sacred  Bull,"  each  one  carved 
out  of  the  rock,  highly  polished  and  covered 
with  writing  executed  in  a  beautiful  manner. 

Each  of  us  carried  a  candle,  and  it  was 
very  hot,  so  much  so  that  one  of  the  young 
men  came  near  fainting  and  had  to  hurry 
out.  It  was  a  curious  and  weird  scene,  fifty 
or  more  people,  each  with  a  candle,  wander- 
ing about  in  the  dark.  After  looking  at  the 
tombs,  we  all  returned  to  the  upper  air,  and 
went  to  the  tomb  of  a  great  king  near  by, 
which  was  under  ground,  and  contained 
several  large  rooms,  all  made  of  highly  pol- 
ished white  marble,  covered  with  writing  and 
carvings ;  processions  of  men  and  animals, 
beautifully  executed,  and  in  the  best  state 
of  preservation. 

Mounted  on  the  donkeys  once  more,  men 
and  boys  surrounded  us,  offering  all  kinds  of 


Egyptian  Donkeys.  131 

things  for  sale.  One  young  fellow  showed 
me  the  skeleton  of  a  lady's  hand,  and  offered 
to  sell  it  for  a  shilling,  but  I  declined.  It 
was  a  rough  ride  back  to  the  river,  the  don- 
keys being  very  uncomfortable  creatures  to 
ride.  Once  the  one  ridden  by  Miss  Potter 
greeted  some  of  his  friends  in  a  field,  and 
brayed  with  tremendous  energy. 

We  were  very  much  fatigued  and  glad  to 
get  to  the  boat. 

The  return  voyage  was  very  pleasant,  and 
we  reached  Cairo  at  5.30  P.M. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


JAFFA. 


Jaffa,  Palestine,  Feb.  21,  1890. 

;UR  party  left  Cairo  on  the  19th, 
going    by    rail    one    hundred 
and  fifty  miles  to  Alexandria, 
and  leaving  there  at   10  A.M. 
the     following     day,    arrived 
here  by  steamer  this  morning. 
The  landing  from  the  steamer  was  made 
in  boats,  and  was  rather  rough,  the  sea  run- 
ning high  and  there  being  no  breakwater. 

This  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  town  in  the 
world,  and  is  certainly  the  dirtiest  one  I 
ever  saw.  We  drove  all  about,  going  first 
to  the  house  of  Simon  the  Tanner,  situated 
near  the  sea.  We  saw  the  tank  in  which 
he  used  to  tan  his  leather,  and  went  on  the 
top  of  the  house,  where  he  and  his  family 
used  to  sleep.  We  then  went  to  the  house 
of  Dorcas,  situated  in  a  grove  of  orange-  and 
lemon-trees,  and  I  bowed  my  head  to  her 
memory,  for  she  not  only  did  good  to  the 

132 


Dorcas, 


133 


poor  herself,  but  her  example  has  caused 
countless  millions  of  Christian  women  in  all 
the  ages  since  to  do  the  same,  very  often  in 
associations  named  after  her. 

The  oranges  raised  in  and  about  the  town 
are  very  large  and  fine,  and  much  exported. 
Great  crowds  of  Turks,  camels,  and  donkeys 
were  in  the  market-places. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


RAMLEH. 


Reinhard's  Hotel,  Ramleh, 
February  21,  1890. 

|E  left  Jaffa  at  3  P.M.,  in  as 
fine  a  landau  as  you  would 
see  in  Hyde  Park,  with  three 
horses  and  a  dragoman,  and 
drove  along  a  splendid  mac- 
adam road,  meeting  and  con- 
stantly passing  camels,  donkeys,  and  strange- 
looking  Turks.  Soon  we  came  to  the  Plains 
of  Sharon,  perfectly  level,  and  stretching  off 
for  ten  or  twenty  miles  each  way,  covered 
with  red,  blue,  and  yellow  flowers.  They  are 
said  to  be  the  "  roses  of  Sharon  "  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptures,  but  really  are  a  species  of 
poppy.  At  a  distance  we  saw  the  high  hills 
and  mountains  which  surround  Jerusalem. 
The  scenes  were  of  the  most  thrilling  inter- 
est, for  Solomon  often  passed  this  way,  and 
over  the  road  were  transported  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon  of  which  the  great  temple  was 

134 


Ramleh.  135 

built.  It  was  a  cool  and  bracing  day,  and 
we  had  a  delightful  trip,  arriving  at  this 
excellent  hotel  at  5  P.  M.,  and  at  once  walked 
to  the  ruins  of  a  mosque  built  in  1099  A.D., 
by  Saladin.  The  tower,  an  elegant  structure, 
is  still  standing.  We  went  to  the  top  of 
this  tower,  and  looked  upon  a  lovely  land- 
scape. As  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  the 
plains  were  covered  with  almond-trees  in 
full  blossom,  and  other  trees  and  shrubs 
peculiar  to  the  country,  the  big  cactus 
plants  being  used  for  fences.  As  we  re- 
turned we  passed  a  tower,  from  the  top  of 
which  a  priest  was  crying  aloud  for  the 
faithful  to  pray.  Every  few  miles  was  a 
guard-house,  and  horsemen  were  often  met 
on  the  road  who  acted  as  police. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


nnwnnnffnnnrnnnrinnwnn» 


■yuuuuuuuuyuuuuuuuuuuus 


JERUSALEM. 

(Jerusalem,  February  23,  1890. 

HE  rest  overnight  at  Ramleh, 
at  the  hotel  there,  kept  by  a 
German,  formerly  of  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  proved  very  refreshing, 
and  in  the  morning  we  took 
our  fine  carriage,  and  driving 
rapidly  over  the  excellent  road,  reached 
here  at  5  P.M.,  having  had  a  very  enjoyable 
trip. 

Coming  near  the  Jaffa  gate  our  driver  ran 
against  a  heavy-loaded  camel,  and  caused 
him  to  tumble  almost  into  our  carriage,  but 
he  fell  partly  under  it,  and  the  wheels  ran 
over  one  of  his  legs  and  broke  it.  The 
owner  of  the  camel,  a  big  Turk,  when  he  saw 
the  mischief,  sat  down  by  the  side  of  the 
road  and  wept.  The  carriage  stopped  at  the 
Jaffa  gate,  and  we  walked  to  the  new  hotel, 
a  large  handsome  building  of  stone,  all  the 
halls  being  paved  with  marble.     It  was  so 

136 


The  Mount  of  Olives.  137 

very  cold  that  I  had  a  fire  made  in  a  small 
stove  in  my  room.  Here,  as  in  all  the  coun- 
tries I  have  lately  visited,  fuel  is  very  scarce 
and  dear ;  that  used  here  was  the  roots  of 
trees. 

At  last  the  dream  of  a  lifetime  has  been 
realized,  and  I  have  been  on  the  top  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  to  me  the  most  interesting 
spot  on  earth.  It  had  been  raining,  making 
the  slippery  stones  of  the  streets  very  dis- 
agreeable. Accompanied  by  an  excellent 
guide,  I  walked  from  the  Jaffa  to  the  Golden 
Gate,  along  the  street  of  "  Solomon  and 
David,"  and  mounted  a  small  good-natured 
donkey,  who  carefully  took  me  over  a  rough 
road  to  the  top  of  the  Mount.  Thence  I 
looked  upon  the  scenes  so  often  described  in 
the  Bible,  rendered  more  impressive  to  me 
from  the  thought  that  on  the  very  spot 
where  I  was,  must  have  stood  David  and 
Solomon,  Christ,  St.  Peter,  Paul,  and  the 
Apostles !  They  must  have  looked  down  in 
their  time,  as  I  did,  upon  the  winding  Jordan, 
the  Dead  Sea,  Bethlehem,  and  the  moun- 
tains and  valleys  beyond.  The  other  view 
was  towards  the  compact  walled  city.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  I  could  see  the  great 
army  of  Titus  encamped  on  the  hills  beyond 


138  Around  the  World. 

the  Jaffa  Gate,  preparing  to  assault  it  with 
their  battering-rams.  The  scene  was  a  very 
impressive  one.  After  admiring  the  beauti- 
ful church  lately  erected  by  the  Russians, 
on  top  of  the  Mount,  I  passed  down  by 
another  and  rougher  path,  and  rode  entirely 
around  the  city,  the  guide  carefully  explain- 
ing every  thing  as  we  rode  along.  The 
Mosque  of  Omar,  built  on  the  spot  where 
Solomon's  temple  stood,  is  a  splendid  edi- 
fice, the  outside  being  made  of  various- 
colored  tiles,  and  the  inside  of  mosaic  work, 
with  the  most  exquisite  stained-glass  win- 
dows. 

At  length  we  got  away  from  this  almost 
enchanted  spot  and  went  through  the  mar- 
kets and  bazaars,  which  do  not  differ  much 
from  those  of  other  Oriental  cities :  narrow 
dirty  streets,  small  stores,  and  crowds  of 
long-bearded  old  men,  exactly  as  you  see 
represented  in  all  pictures ;  women,  black, 
brown,  and  white,  with  their  faces  modestly 
covered,  but  barelegged  and  nothing  on 
their  feet  except  sandals ;  even  these  were 
often  left  off. 

We  took  a  carriage  and  went  to  Bethle- 
hem, five  miles  from  Jerusalem,  and  at- 
tended   religious   services    held    in   various 


Bethlehem. 


139 


churches  by  the  Russians,  Catholics,  and 
Copts.  Every  thing  we  saw  was  of  great 
interest,  the  view  from  the  hill  superb,  and 
the  people  and  scenes  on  the  way  wonderful 
to  behold. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


JAFFA. 


^r^u.rri^  ri.Tmnnn^nnrnpnpi. 


Jaffa,  January  26,  1890. 

JAVING  spent  two  days  in 
\  Jerusalem  industriously  sight- 
seeing, one  noon-day  I  took  a 
seat  in  the  fine  carriage  pro- 
vided, my  only  companion 
being  a  dragoman,  and  we 
were  soon  bowling  along  over  the  fine  road 
to  Jaffa. 

The  engineers  are  surveying  for  a  railroad 
from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem  and  the  people  expect 
that  it  will  be  completed  in  a  year.  The  jour- 
ney may  then  be  made  in  an  hour.  The  moon 
came  up  at  6  P.M.,  and  as  we  passed  along 
the  road  through  the  mountains  I  saw  sights 
and  scenery  not  to  be  soon  forgotten.  I  felt 
safe,  for  every  few  miles  there  was  a  stone 
watch-tower,  occupied  by  guards,  and  often 
we  met  them  on  the  road,  mounted  and 
armed  with  guns.  It  was  a  ride  of  thrilling 
interest,    for   over   this    route   have   passed 

140 


The  Field  of  Sharon.  1 4 1 

many  times  the  heroes  of  old,  and  on  yon- 
der field  of  Sharon,  now  smiling  with  flow- 
ers, was  once  fought  a  great  battle.  The 
carriage  rushed  on,  and  half-way  we  changed 
horses.  Being  very  cold,  I  walked  ahead 
for  a  couple  of  miles,  meeting  caravans 
and  single  camels,  and  numerous  donkeys 
laden  with  wood,  and  men  coming  from  the 
fields  with  their  oxen  and  their  ploughs. 
The  black-eyed  natives  eyed  me  curiously, 
but  said  nothing,  and  soon  the  carriage  over- 
took me,  and  I  was  so  well  warmed  up  by 
my  walk  that  I  felt  comfortable  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  trip. 

We  were  detained  for  two  days  at  Jaffa 
on  account  of  the  rough  sea,  which  pre- 
vented steamers  from  landing,  but  being  in 
a  comfortable  hotel,  I  was  content  and  spent 
the  time  looking  about  the  ancient  city. 

A  young  Arab  offered  to  sell  me  a  tame 
hyena  for  twenty  francs.  It  was  nine  months 
old,  and  as  playful  as  a  young  dog.  At  last 
the  sea  became  smooth,  and  I  entered  one  of 
the  heavy  boats,  and  the  three  strong  Turkish 
boatmen  put  me  over  the  rough  waters  in 
good  style  on  board  the  Russian  steamer 
Poccir  from  Alexandria  bound  for  Odessa. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 


ON  BOARD  THE  "  POCCIR." 


i.'ni-auai.'itv  TVii^Tt? 


Steamer  "  Poccir,"  March  4,  1890. 


HE  steward  gave  me  a  very 
poor  state-room  below  with 
another  man,  but  I  handed 
him  a  fee,  and  in  the  morning 
he  put  me  in  a  beautiful 
cabin  on  deck,  a  large  room, 
lined  with  handsome  polished  wood  with  two 
large  looking-glasses,  and  fit  for  a  prince  or  an 
American  to  occupy.  I  could  not  find  a 
man  on  the  ship  who  spoke  a  word  of  Eng- 
lish, but  I  rather  enjoyed  the  novel  situation, 
and  got  along  very  nicely. 

On  the  28th  instant,  in  the  morning,  I  came 
on  deck,  and  found  that  we  had  arrived  at 
Beyrout,  and  after  partaking  of  a  glass  of 
tea  and  some  bread,  I  took  a  boat  and  went 
ashore,  and  there  engaged  an  Arab  guide. 
The  first  call  we  made  was  on  Mr.  Bissenger, 
our  Consul,  formerly  from  New  York,  with 
whom  I  had  a  pleasant  talk.     We  then  went 

142 


Bey  rout.  143 

along  the  streets  lined  on  both  sides  with 
fine  stores  occupied  by  English  and  other 
foreign  merchants,  and  then  through  the 
bazaars  of  the  native  town.  We  inspected 
a  fine  palace,  splendidly  furnished,  owned 
by  a  Russian  nobleman,  who  has  not  been 
here  for  seven  years,  but  who  keeps  it  open, 
with  servants  in  attendance,  ready  to  be 
occupied  by  himself  and  family  at  any  time. 

We  drove  out  to  a  handsome  public  gar- 
den, and  came  back  over  the  famous  Damas- 
cus road  built  by  the  French.  A  fine 
macadam  roadway,  over  which  are  run  dili- 
gences to  Damascus,  eighty  miles  away,  but 
now  it  is  blocked  by  heavy  snow  in  the 
mountains,  and  consequently  two  hundred 
travellers  are  detained  in  Beyrout.  One 
gentleman  tried  to  get  through  on  horse- 
back, but  the  snow  was  too  deep,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  return.  The  bay  is  a  beauti- 
ful one ;  as  seen  from  the  city,  a  range  of 
mountains  looming  up  around  it,  the  lower 
ones  being  covered  with  cedars,  and  the 
higher,  including  Mount  Lebanon,  capped 
with  snow. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Solomon  ob- 
tained the  cedars  from  these  mountains  with 
which  he  built  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.     I 


144  Around  the  World. 

had  some  anxiety  about  my  passport,  as  it 
had  not  been  endorsed  by  the  Turkish  Con- 
sul at  Cairo,  but  a  fee  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  customs  officer  was  sufficient,  and  he 
permitted  me  to  depart  without  even  look- 
ing at  the  document.  We  got  aboard  the 
ship  at  noon,  and  after  a  nice  lunch,  includ- 
ing excellent  red  and  white  Odessa  wine, 
the  steamer  whistled,  and  we  were  off.  Dur- 
ing the  afternoon  we  stopped  at  Napoli, 
which  is  a  well-built  town,  extending  along 
the  shore  a  mile  or  two,  with  the  snow- 
covered  mountains  for  background.  Here 
a  dozen  passengers  got  off,  mostly  Turks. 
There  was  a  heavy  sea,  and  the  small  boats 
could  only  be  brought  up  to  within  six  feet 
of  the  ship's  ladder,  so  the  passengers  wish- 
ing to  disembark  had  to  jump.  The  steam 
engines  were  kept  in  constant  use  from  4 
P.M.  until  midnight,  taking  on  board  from 
lighters  three  thousand  large  boxes  of 
oranges  for  Odessa. 

The  steamer  and  the  lighters  pitched 
about,  and  it  was  a  sight  to  see  how  skil- 
fully every  thing  was  managed. 

The  cooking  on  this  ship  is  excellent, 
though  some  of  the  food  is  new  to  me,  and 
I  look  with  some  surprise  to  see  the  Russians 


Smyrna,  145 

drink  a  small  glass  of  raw  brandy  before  each 
meal. 

We  arrived  at  the  ancient  and  important 
city  of  Smyrna  yesterday  at  10  A.M.,  and 
went  ashore  with  Mr.  Zucker,  Swiss  Consul 
to  Chili,  who  speaks  English,  and  very  kindly 
assisted  me  in  making  known  my  wants. 

We  employed  a  guide  and  went  through 
the  city,  which  is  a  large  one,  containing  two 
hundred  thousand  people. 

The  foreign  streets  and  stores  are  very 
fine,  but  those  occupied  by  Jews,  Turks, 
Armenians,  and  Greeks  are  very  dirty  and 
disagreeable. 

After  a  couple  of  hours'  walking  about  in 
the  heat  and  dirt,  we  came  back  to  the 
street  running  along  the  bay,  which  is  a 
couple  of  miles  long,  well-paved  and  clean. 
A  dozen  large  steamers  were  at  the  docks, 
and  much  business  going  on.  We  saw  num- 
bers of  fine  buildings,  hotels,  and  cafes. 

Mr.  Zucker  and  I  called  on  the  United 
States  Consul,  Mr.  Emmet,  and  I  was  agree- 
ably surprised  to  find  that  he  was  an  old 
acquaintance,  formerly  in  the  Comptroller's 
office  of  New  York. 

At  4  P.M.  we  went  on  board,  and  were  soon 
off.     The   steamer   had  been  invaded  by  a 


146  Around  the  World. 

dozen  young  Englishmen,  and  on  interview- 
ing them  I  found  that  they  belonged  to  a 
foot-ball  club  of  Constantinople,  and  had 
been  to  Smyrna  playing  against  a  club  there. 
They  were  a  jolly  set  of  young  fellows,  and 
made  things  lively  on  the  ship  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  trip. 

The  wind  blew  hard  all  day.  It  was  cold 
and  disagreeable,  and  we  saw  little  of  the 
land,  though  we  were  passing  through  the 
famous  Dardanelles,  the  Hellespont  of  the 
Greeks,  past  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Troy,  of  which  Homer  sung,  and  I  would 
have  given  much  for  a  bright  day  or  a  moon- 
light night  so  that  I  could  have  seen  the 
exact  place  where  "  Leander  swam  the  Helles- 
pont." But  this  was  not  to  be,  so  I  turned 
in  and  slept  until  morning,  and  when  I  came 
on  deck  found  that  we  were  at  anchor  in 
the  world-renowned  and  beautiful  harbor  of 
Constantinople. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


Constantinople,  March  9,  1890. 

HE  harbor  appears  to  be  about 
a  mile  wide  and  two  miles 
long,  surrounded  by  steep 
hills,  on  which  the  city  is 
built,  largely  in  terraces,  with 
many  great  palaces,  mosques, 
and  public  buildings,  the  Mosque  of  St. 
Sophia  being  very  prominent.  I  took  a 
guide  at  the  ship  and  went  ashore  in  his 
boat.  I  had  been  often  informed  of  the 
annoyances  by  custom-house  officials  to 
which  travellers  are  often  obliged  to  sub- 
mit on  their  arrival  in  the  Turkish  domin- 
ions, and  was  agreeably  surprised  at  the  ease 
with  which  I  was  permitted  to  go  on  shore. 
The  guide  showed  my  passport  to  an  officer, 
who  looked  it  over  and  returned  it,  and  we 
went  to  another  wharf,  where  my  trunk  and 
bag  had  been  landed.  There  were  three 
venerable  officers  here,  who  each  took  a  franc 

147 


148  Around  the  World, 

and  passed  the  baggage  without  opening 
any  thing,  or  saying  a  word. 

A  big  Turk  took  my  trunk  and  bag  on  his 
back,  and  we  went  up  an  ill-paved  and  dirty 
street,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  and  almost 
as  hard  to  climb  as  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt, 
leading  to  a  nice  and  well-paved  avenue, 
lined  with  fine  shops,  on  which  was  the  Hotel 
Pesth,  where  we  found  comfortable  quarters. 

I  had  a  cup  of  tea,  and  then  sallied  out  to 
see  the  city.  There  are  few  carriages  to  be 
seen  in  the  streets,  but  great  numbers  of 
large  and  homeless  yellow  dogs,  all  of  the 
same  shaggy  breed,  apparently  well  fed  and 
happy  and  certainly  good-natured.  There 
were  twelve  of  these  dogs  on  the  walk  oppo- 
site the  hotel,  and  I  counted  164  on  one  of 
the  main  streets,  about  a  mile  long.  We  re- 
marked that  they  were  about  as  thick  all 
over  the  city,  and  there  must  be  as  many  as 
fifty  thousand  altogether.  We  walked  down 
a  fine  street  to  the  water,  and  along  the 
shore  for  a  mile  or  two,  and  again  admired 
the  beautiful  bay,  which  poets  have  raved 
about  for  centuries,  and  which  most  people 
think  the  finest  in  all  the  world. 

We  went  as  far  as  one  of  the  big  palaces 
belonging   to   the   Sultan,  which   faces  the 


6Y.  Sophia.  1 49 

water.  It  is  twelve  hundred  feet  long,  and 
has  two  grand  entrances  built  of  white 
marble.  There  we  took  a  circuit  around 
the  hills,  and  saw  many  great  buildings,  bar- 
racks, schools,  etc.  Once  we  saw  a  regiment 
of  horsemen  drilling  in  a  large  square.  The 
men  were  tall  and  fine-looking,  and  the 
horses  excellent.  There  were  two  fire  alarms 
while  we  were  out,  and  it  was  enough  to 
make  a  New  York  horse  laugh  to  see  the 
arrangements  for  putting  them  out.  The 
engine,  so  called,  was  an  ordinary  force-pump 
with  two  handles,  placed  on  a  platform  and 
carried  by  a  dozen  men,  who  were  followed 
by  fifty  more,  in  a  leisurely  way.  There  are 
no  water-works,  and  many  large  and  very 
old  wooden  buildings,  so  one  can  readily  see 
that  there  must  be  destructive  fires  here 
sometimes. 

I  have  been  here  a  week,  and  have  seen 
many  mosques,  including  the  immense  and 
famous  St.  Sophia,  which  must  have  been  in 
days  of  old  very  magnificent,  but  it  has  been 
largely  robbed  of  its  treasures,  and  is  now 
quite  dilapidated. 

The  weather  here  is  very  bad,  cold,  rainy, 
and  blustering,  much  as  we  often  have  it  in 
March.     There  was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  two 


150  Around  the  World, 

weeks  ago,  and  the  streets  are  wet,  slippery, 
and  disagreeable.  On  the  6th  instant  we 
made  the  famous  trip  up  the  Bosphorus  to 
the  Black  Sea,  which  has  been  so  often 
written  about.  There  were  four  of  us,  Mr. 
Zucker,  myself,  and  two  friends,  all  sedate, 
over  sixty  years  of  age,  and  representing  a 
combined  weight  of  nearly  eight  hundred 
pounds. 

We  left  the  hotel  at  9  A.M.,  walked  a  short 
distance  through  the  middle  of  the  muddy 
streets  to  a  cable  road,  which  we  took,  and 
in  ten  minutes  were  in  a  busy  street  near  the 
water.  We  then  crossed  a  fine  iron  bridge 
and  went  on  board  a  side-wheel  steamer. 
Looking  across  the  water  we  could  see  the 
great  hospital  buildings  where  Florence 
Nightingale  immortalized  her  name,  by  her 
care  of  wounded  soldiers  during  the  Crimean 
war.  Steam  was  up,  and  soon  we  were  away, 
going  along  near  the  shore  of  the  European 
side  and  making  about  ten  landings.  On 
the  shore,  buildings  have  been  erected, 
sometimes  a  hundred  or  more  together,  so 
that  practically  speaking  the  ten  miles  to  the 
Black  Sea  is  a  continuation  of  the  city. 
Palaces  are  to  be  seen  all  along,  several 
of  them  belonging  to  the  Sultan,  and  one 


The  Bosphorus  and  the  Black  Sea.   151 

very  large  and  splendid  one  occupied  by  the 
Persian  Ambassador. 

The  ranges  of  hills  near  the  water  are 
largely  cultivated,  and  even  now  are  covered 
with  green  grass,  the  whole  presenting  a 
panorama  of  great  beauty. 

We  stopped  at  noon,  went  on  shore  and 
had  an  excellent  lunch  at  a  German  restau- 
rant, and  then  took  another  boat  as  far  as  the 
Black  Sea,  and  returned  along  the  shore  of 
Asia,  stopping  at  numerous  places  to  take 
on  passengers  and  mail,  and  in  an  hour 
reached  the  city. 

There  was  a  lot  of  women  on  board,  with 
their  faces  more  or  less  covered.  Once  as 
the  steamer  was  passing  a  house  I  saw  a  very 
pretty  sight.  A  couple  of  little  girls  made 
signals  to  our  captain,  and  a  larger  one  held 
up,  for  him  to  see,  a  small  white  puppy.  The 
white-headed  old  sailor  smiled  a  grim  smile, 
and  the  swift  steamer  swept  on. 

One  day  I  took  a  guide  and  went  to  see 
the  famous  native  bazaars,  where  under  one 
roof  were  several  hundred  small  stores,  the 
passage-ways  narrow,  wet,  and  ill-paved,  such 
as  you  find  everywhere  in  the  East,  filled 
with  every  thing  native  and  foreign  one  ever 
thought  of.     An  Armenian  pulled  me  into 


152  Around  the  World. 

• 

his  store  and  showed  me  elegant  stuff,  sofa 
pillows,  silks,  shawls,  and  gold  embroidery, 
but  having  no  use  for  such  things  I  came 
away  without  purchasing. 

Another  day  I  called  on  Mr.  Sweeney,  our 
Consul,  and  later  upon  Mr.  Solomon  Hirsch, 
U.  S.  Minister,  who  kindly  gave  me  all  the 
information  I  wanted  about  Constantinople. 
Returning  through  the  lower  part  of  the  city, 
where  there  was  a  large  crowd  of  people,  I 
saw  a  dog-fight.  A  strange  black  dog  had 
invaded  this  part  of  the  city,  and  a  dozen 
yellow  ones  went  for  him  fiercely,  causing 
an  immense  row  and  confusion,  until  a  Turk 
appeared  with  a  big  rope,  thrashed  them  all 
and  sent  them  yelling  away. 

One  morning  we  took  a  carriage,  and  went 
to  see  the  Sultan  make  his  weekly  trip  to  a 
mosque.  We  drove  some  three  miles  to  the 
front  of  the  mosque  through  the  mud  and 
snow. 

This  mosque  is  a  new  and  beautiful  one, 
and  soon  after  we  arrived,  there  was  a  great 
gathering  of  horse  and  foot-soldiers. 

The  horsemen  were  fine-looking,  and  rode 
splendid  horses.  They  formed  several  deep 
in  front  of  our  carriage,  but  I  got  on  a  high 
fence,  so  as  to  have  a  good  view,  and  stood 


The  Sultan.  153 

there  in  the  snow  and  rain  for  an  hour,  wait- 
ing for  his  Highness.  At  length  there  came  a 
band  of  music,  a  troop  of  cavalry,  and  many 
decorated  officers,  followed  by  an  open  car- 
riage containing  the  Sultan,  a  dark,  black- 
bearded  middle-aged  Turk,  wearing  the 
national  red  fez.  He  passed  slowly  on  to 
his  devotions,  and  I  was  asked  if  I  would  wait 
and  see  him  return.  I  said  most  decidedly 
not,  and  returned  with  my  friends  to  the 
hotel  and  to  a  late  but  excellent  breakfast  at 
2  P.M. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 


CONCLUSION. 


N  the  afternoon  of  the  loth  of 
March,  I  took  a  walk  down  to 
the  great  bridge,  and  had  a 
last  and  lingering  look  at  the 
splendid  harbor,  the  Golden 
Horn,  and  the  Bosphorus. 
At  6  P.M.,  I  took  a  carriage  and  a  guide  to 
the  depot  at  Stamboul,  from  which  leaves, 
twice  a  week,  the  Oriental  Express  for 
Vienna  and  Paris. 

After  an  examination  of  my  passport  and 
baggage,  and  considerable  delay,  I  got  on 
the  train,  composed  exclusively  of  Mann 
boudoir  cars,  lighted  by  gas,  including  din- 
ing-car ;  and  every  thing  first-class,  quite  as 
good  as  any  thing  in  America,  except  the 
vestibule  trains  from  New  York  to  Chicago. 
The  road-bed  is  so  perfectly  constructed 
that  the  cars  run  easier  than  on  any  railroad 
I  was  ever  on.  You  could  read  with  com- 
fort, and  some  of  the  passengers  were  writ- 

154 


Budapest.  155 

ing.  My  journey  from  Constantinople  was 
a  solitary  one,  our  party  having  separated, 
and  other  friends  being  left  behind.  Passing 
through  Bulgaria  and  Servia,  little  was  to  be 
seen  except  vast  plains,  sometimes  cultivated, 
but  often  not  ;  mud  houses  with  thatched 
roofs,  and  oxen  ploughing  in  the  fields.  We 
then  went  up  and  over  big  mountains,  cov- 
ered with  snow. 

The  second  morning  when  I  arose  we 
were  in  Hungary,  and  the  scene  had  changed 
to  every  appearance  of  business  and  activity. 
Four  oxen,  attached  to  a  plough  or  to  a 
four-wheel  wagon,  were  to  be  seen  all  along 
the  route.  There  were  vast  cultivated  plains, 
and  beyond  them  towns,  villages,  and  houses, 
all  looking  in  good  shape.  We  arrived  at 
Budapest  after  two  nights  and  one  day  on 
the  train.  I  spent  two  days  in  Budapest, 
and  found  it  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities 
in  Europe  —  handsome,  well  paved,  wide, 
clean  streets,  splendid  hotels,  stores,  and 
public  and  private  buildings.  This  city  is 
the  capital  of  Hungary;  the  King,  who  is 
also  Emperor  of  Austria,  resides  here  for 
a  portion  of  the  year. 

In  one  of  my  trips  about  the  city,  I  saw 
him  driving  out  in  his  royal  coach.    Leaving 


156  Around  the  World. 

Budapest  at  half-past  two  one  afternoon, 
after  a  fine  journey  of  five  hours,  I  arrived 
in  Vienna,  and  was  accommodated  at  the 
Imperial  Hotel,  which  was  first-class  in  all 
respects. 

A  week  was  passed  in  Vienna.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  cities  in  the  world,  many 
think  even  finer  than  Paris,  and  I  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  comforts  of  civilization  once 
more,  all  the  more,  no  doubt,  from  having 
been  partly  deprived  of  them  for  so  many 
months,  as  recorded  in  the  previous  pages. 
I  called  on  Colonel  Grant,  the  United  States 
Minister,  who  was  very  polite  and  kind.  I 
dined  with  him  and  his  charming  family,  and 
attended  a  diplomatic  reception  given  by 
Mrs.  Grant.  I  also  dined  with  the  distin- 
guished Dr.  Kolish  and  his  family,  some 
of  whom  spoke  excellent  English,  and  passed 
a  very  agreeable  evening  with  them. 

Passing  on  to  Berlin,  I  there  saw  a 
grand  review  given  by  the  Emperor  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales  ;  and  from  there  went  to 
Dresden,  in  which  delightful  city  several 
days  were  spent,  going  often  to  the  large  and 
splendid  gallery  of  paintings,  and  lingering 
in  front  of  that  wonderful  work  of  art, 
the    "  Sistine    Madonna."      One   evening    I 


Homeward  Bound.  1 5  7 

went  to  the  Grand  Opera,  and  one  after- 
noon drove  around  and  through  the  city. 
Two  American  young  ladies  were  kind 
enough  to  accompany  me  and  to  point  out 
the  various  objects  of  interest.  We  met 
the  King  of  Saxony,  driving  out  in  a  showy 
royal  carriage. 

Hamburg  came  next,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  enterprising  cities  in  Europe, 
and  then  Bremen,  where  I  boarded  the 
North  German  Lloyds  steamer  Eider. 

Every  thing  about  this  splendid  ship  was 
so  perfect  that  one  could  not  suggest  an  im- 
provement ;  the  table  being  of  extraordinary 
excellence.  We  made  a  quick  passage,  and 
in  eight  days  I  landed  in  New  York,  April 
8,  1890,  having  been  absent  exactly  seven 
months.  The  distance  travelled  was  27,816 
miles:   18,786  by  water,  9,030  by  land. 


DISTANCES  TRAVELLED : 

Recorded  from  San  Francisco  to  Cairo  by  Miss  Roe;  of 
Cincinnati. 

MILES 

From  New  York  to  San  Francisco 3,000 

San  Francisco  to  Yokohama 4, 724 

Yokohama  to  Tokio  and  return 36 

Nikko,  Lake  Chiu,  and  return 253 

Hankom  Pass  and  return 1 1 5  K 

Kamakura  and  Enoshima 80 

Yokohama  to  Kobe 346 

Kobe  to  Kioto  and  Osaka 152 

Kobe  via  Nagasaki  to  Hong-Kong 1,456 

Hong-Kong  to  Canton  and  return 180 

Hong-Kong  to  Colombo,  Ceylon 3,096 

N.  Elliya  and  Kandy 270^ 

Colombo  to  Madras  and  Calcutta 1,401 

Calcutta  to  Darjeeling  and  return 740 

Calcutta  to  Benares 475 

Benares  to  Lucknow 202 

Lucknow  to  Cawnpore 46 

Cawnpore  to  Agra 160 

Agra  to  Delhi 144 

Delhi  to  Jeypore 101 

Jeypore  to  Bombay 699 

Bombay  to  Aden 1,661 

Aden  to  Ismailia 1,352 

Ismai'lia  to  Cairo 84 

Memphis  and  return 50 

Pyramids  and  return 16 

Cairo  to  Alexandria 150 

Alexandria  to  Jaffa 250 

Jaffa  to  Jerusalem  and  return 68 

Jerusalem  to  Bethlehem  and  return 10 

Jaffa  to  Constantinople 1,000 

Constantinople  to  Vienna 1,300 

Vienna  to  Dresden 340 

Dresden  to  Berlin 100 

Berlin  to  Hamburg 168 

Hamburg  to  Bremerhaven 90 

Bremerhaven  to  New  York 3, 500 

27,816 
158 


RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Travel 

D58 

.G48 


■ 


■ 


^ 


